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church of st in the suddenly left him at a comer to attend to other visitors and disappeared looked around him vaguely touched and awed by the solemnity of the scene the damp walls on which old paintings of the seventh century were still visible h crumbling fast away the glimmering lights the little crowd of people pressed together the brilliantly illuminated altar the accents of the priests and presently the sound of a boy s exquisite young voice rose high and pure singing the st herself might have been by such x v the master christian and instinctively bent his head moved strongly by the holy and tender of the growing accustomed to the flickering lights he presently perceived the d ag a little in front of him and beside her were her two and kneeling and her face was hidden was seated and her eyes full of the radiance of thought and dreaming genius were fixed on the altar gradually he moved up till he reached the rough bench where they were all the d saw him at once and signed to him to take a vacant place next to he sat down very gently afraid to disturb the graceful figure kneeling within touch of his hand how devout she seemed he thought but as the ceased she stirred and rose quietly as quietly as a bent flower might lift itself in the grass after the rush of the wind and gave him a gentle salute then sat down beside him drooping her soft eyes over her prayer book but not before he had seen that they were wet with tears was she unhappy he wondered it seemed impossible such a woman could never be unhappy with beauty health and a sunny temperament wealth and independence what could she know of sorrow it is strange how seldom a man can enter into the true comprehension of a woman s g though he may often be the cause of the trouble a woman if endowed with beauty and charm ought never in a man s opinion to look sad whatever she may feel it is her business to smile and shine like a on a spring morning for his always and though he could thoroughly appreciate and enter into the sordid woes of hard worked and poverty stricken was not without the same delusion that seems to possess all his sex namely that if a woman is brilliantly endowed and has sufficient of this world s goods to her plenty of friends and pretty she need never be unhappy s tears were therefore a mystery to him except when a jealous pang contracted his generally liberal and tender soul and he thought perhaps she is for the he glanced at her every now and again y while the service went on and the exquisite music beat waves against the ancient the master christian walls and roof of the murdered saint s tomb but her face fair and was a puzzle to his mind he could never make out from its expression whether she were thoughtful or frivolous strange mistakes are often made in often the so called intellectual face the touch me not dignity the tragedy manner covers a total lack of brain and often a large seemingly noble face has served as a mask for depths of the delicate small face of suggested nothing of the giant heroism in his nature and many a pretty and apparently frivolous woman s face which suggests nothing but the most thoughtless gaiety is a disguise for a strong nature capable of lofty and self sacrificing deeds there is nothing likely to be so as a human countenance for with the exception of a few sincere persons we all try to make it disguise our feelings as much as we can the service concluded and st solemnly commended once more to her eternal rest the people all rose and wandered like black ghosts through the darkness of the following the of the carried by the who always perform the duty of guides on this occasion and once out in the open air in the full blaze of the sunshine had now broken brilliantly through the mist of the previously threatening rain clouds saw with pain that looked very pale and ill he ventured to say something concerning this to the d whose bright dark eyes flashed over him with an look half wonder half scorn what strange creatures men are she said even you clever and gifted with an insight into human nature seem to be actually surprised that our poor pretty little looks ill i with half rome declaring that she was the mistress of and the other half swearing itself black in the face that she is the mistress of she certainly ought to be very happy ought she not indeed almost dancing with the joy and consolation of knowing how pleasant her society friends are making her life for her s heart beat violently he said in a low tone of ear the master christian if i thought if i could think such abominable lies were told of her and the smiled rather sadly it is not like you to pretend mr you do know you must know that a coarse discussion over her name was the cause of the between the and that miserable of the stage gossip generously lays the two deaths at her door and the poor child is as innocent of harm as the lilies we have just seen left to die in the darkness of st s tomb the fact is she came to rome to escape the and persecution of and she never knew till the day she heard of his death that he had followed her nor did i in fact	33
i asked him to be my escort to rome and he refused naturally i imagined he was still in paris so we were all in the dark and as often happens in such cases when the world does not know whom to blame for a disaster it generally to punish the innocent all the saints we have heard about this morning bear witness to that truth lifted his eyes and looked at the like figure of walking a little ahead of him with her friend i thought he said hesitatingly i confess i thought there might have been something between her and the late of course there was something answered the impatiently oh mon de there always is something where is mr she cannot smile or sing or turn her head or raise her eyes or smell a bunch of without some one of your audacious sex the idea of making himself agreeable and indispensable to her and when she will not compromise herself is that not your convenient little phrase she is judged much more severely than if she had done so and do you know why because you men can never endure defeat in love matters you would rather spread abroad the rumour that you had conquered than confess that your had been perceived and with indignation and scorn and i will tell you another thing if you do not know it in the frequent destruction oi woman s the master christian it is a rejected who generally starts the first rumour and hands the lie over to women knowing that they may be trusted to keep it up flushed and under the lash of her cutting words you are very cruel he said surely bitterly cruel i have loved she replied and that is why i am cruel i have loved and have been deceived in love and that kind of thing often turns the most patient into an fierce i am not quite a tiger cat but i confess i do not like one in anything nature s tendency being to till we are all down into one level the grave at the present moment we are treading on a mixture of kings and saints and heroes all one soil you see and rather badly in need of at all times she laughed a little frankly i assure you it is to me the most deplorable arrangement that a true woman should be destined to g ve all the passion and love of her life to one man while the same man his worthless affections about like among of my dear mr do not frown at me in that tragic way i am not you i am not in the least inclined to put you in the general at least not at present you do not look like the ordinary man though you may be for all that i expression is very she laughed again then added think of our sweet for instance unless a merciful providence she will marry and no doubt he will make her invite to her house to dine and sleep she loves him i said simply yes she loves him because she herself with the idea that he is worthy of love but if she were to find him out her whole soul would indignantly him if she knew all know of him she would rather embrace the skeleton of san with the great jewels glistening in his ghastly eye than the well fed fresh coloured if you fear for her happiness why not warn her asked the master christian warn her against the one creature she loves in the world said the thanks very much i would rather not she would never speak to me again and i should lose every chance of comforting or helping her when affliction comes as of course it is bound to come each individual man or woman makes his or her own life we poor friends can only stand and look on waiting till they get into the that we have always foreseen and then doing our best to drag them out of it but god himself i think could not save them from falling into the in the first place as for i have advised her to leave rome and go back to t once started why why can you ask because she is here on account of s death and and wronged because the women hate her for her beauty and wealth and the men hate her too because she will not flatter them by accepting their ridiculous attentions she will be much happier in her own home such a grand old castle it is l cluster of towers and broad with purple mountains in the background and tall pine trees everywhere it must be lonely for her said quickly she is so so so made for love and care and tenderness here he broke oflf vexed with himself for having said so much and his face flushed warmly the stopped in her walk and looked at him mr she said i think i hope you are an honest man and do you know the best advice i can give you he answered no word but his eyes questioned her remain honest she said smiling an answer to his be true to your own instincts and highest impulses do not allow yourself to be swayed by opinion or rumour stand clear of both and treat even a woman as you would treat a man candidly faithfully she moved on and rejoined her companions and followed the xv sm s carriage the master christian was waiting for her and the herself was just entering it with as he came up good bye mr she said gently extending her hand i may not see you again perhaps i am	33
going home to this week must you go he asked looking earnestly into the lovely eyes than ever in their present sorrowful languor i think so she answered i may wait to see s great picture but do not hurry your departure said speaking in a softer tone tell me may i come and see you this evening just for a few moments his eyes rested on her tenderly and at the passion of his glance her own fell if you like yes she murmured and just then the d approached may i drive you home mr she asked thank you and smiled as he accepted the invitation and presently the carriages started s light victoria leading and the d s following half way back to rome a picturesque little beggar whose coloured rags scarcely clothed his smooth brown limbs suddenly sprang out of a corner where he had been in hiding with a great basket of and threw the whole fragrant heap into s carriage crying out un un threw out four or five but carried beyond all prudence by catching a glimpse of s pretty head gleaming above the great purple cluster of she had caught and held tossed a twenty piece to the clever little rascal who had by the action to the word and the word to the action as so often do gained a week s in one successful morning and the evening came misty but mild with the moon peering doubtfully through a veil of fine floating which gathering flashes of from the silver turned to the witch lights of an and made his way to the d n v x the master christian own mind he called the in memory of tlie old song had sung on giving his name he was at once shown up into the great now made beautiful by the picturesque and precious things accumulated there and arranged with the individuality and taste of the spirit she was quite alone seated in a deep easy chair near the fire and her dress of some faint shell pink hue clung about her in trailing soft folds which fell in a glistening heap of crushed rose tints at her feet making a soft rest for her tiny dog who was curled therein the shed a warm glow around her flickering brightly on her fair hair on her white arms and small hands where one or two diamonds flashed like drops of dew and as he entered was conscious of an overpowering sense of weakness poverty of soul of mind of for the tranquillity and sweet perfection of the picture his eyes rested upon a picture than even the which tempted s to hell made him doubtful of his own powers of his own worth in his life of self among the poorer classes he had grown accustomed to pity women to look upon them more or less as frail broken creatures help and support sometimes to be loved but far more often to be despised and neglected but was not of these he knew or thought he knew that she needed nothing beauty was hers wealth was hers independence of position was hers and if she had given a smile or nod of encouragement lovers were hers to command what was he that he should count himself at all valuable in her sight even as the merest friend these thoughts were doubly by the immense scorn he now entertained for himself that he should have been such a fool as to listen for a moment to the silly and malignant gossip among the envious concerning a woman who was the superior of those who her for logic shows that wherever superiority exists inferiority rises up in opposition and the lower to drag the higher down such vague reflections rapidly his brain gave him an air of embarrassment and awkwardness not by any means o the master christian and half rising from her chair greeted him in her turn with a little touch of shyness which sent a wave of soft colour over her face and made her look ten times prettier than ever i am glad to find you alone he began yes i am generally alone answered with a little smile except for she would be here to welcome you this evening but she has a very bad headache i am very sorry murmured with earnestness all the while devoutly blessing madame s she is a great sufferer from i believe yes and to divert the cloud of embarrassment that seemed to be deepening rather than for them both rang the bell with a pretty that was rather startling to s nerves what is that for he only for coffee their eyes met the mutual glance was irresistible and they both laughed s page entered in response to her summons a pretty dusky lad of some twelve years old arrayed in scarlet and bearing a gilt with coffee prepared in the fashion do you like coffee made in this way asked as she handed his cup s eyes were fixed on the small white hand that looked so dainty curled over the trifle of china that was called a coffee cup and he answered vaguely this way oh yes of course any way i a faint smile lifted the rosy comers of s mouth as she heard this reply and the page rolled his dark eyes up at his fair mistress with a look of dog like affectionate as to whether perhaps some fault in his serving had caused that little playful expression on the face which he in common with many others of his sex thought the fairest in the world the coffee and the page gone there followed a spell of silence the fire burned cheerily in the deep chimney and the great logs cracked and as s a the master	33
christian say if these two curious people can find nothing to talk about we can and then just as luck would have it a burning suddenly detached itself from the rest and fell out blazing on the hearth sprang up to push it back and to assist her and then strange to only the influences of attraction know how it happened the little difficulty of the burning brought those two other burning embers of humanity together for hardly conscious of what he did caught s swaying figure as she rose from bending over the fire closely in his arms with a passion which mounted like a wave to tempest height and knew no further hesitation or obstacle i i love you my darling i love you no answer came for there was none needed her face was hidden on his breast but he felt rather than saw the soft white arms and dainty hands moving upwards till they closed round him in the dear embrace which meant for him from henceforth the faith and love and devotion of one true heart through all the sorrows and as well as the joys and triumphs of life and when with his heart beating and all his thrilling with the new that possessed him he whispered a word or two that caused the pretty golden head to raise itself timidly the beautiful dark blue eyes to grow darker with the tenderness that the soul behind them and the sweet lips to meet his own in a kiss as soft and fragrant as though a rose had touched them it was small blame to him that for a moment he lost his and drawing her closer in his arms upon her not only kisses but whispered words of all that tender which is judged as foolish by those who have never had the privilege of being made the subject of such and exquisite and when they were calmer and began to think of the possibility of the worthy suddenly recovering from her and coming to look after her pupil or the but likely entrance of a servant to attend to the lamps or to put fresh wood on the fire they turned each from the other with reluctance and half laughing decorum her seat by the fare k ti himself the master christian with happy in a low as near to her as could be permitted for a gentleman visitor who might be considered as literature or science to a fascinating hostess and somehow as they talked their conversation did gradually drift from passionate into graver affecting wider interests and warming into eloquence gave free vent to his and opinions till noticing that sat very silent looking into the fire somewhat gravely he checked himself abruptly that perhaps he was treading on what might be forbidden ground with her whose pleasure was now his law as he came to this sudden pause she turned her soft eyes towards him tenderly with a smile well she said in the pretty foreign accent which distinguished her almost perfect english and why do you stop speaking you must not be afraid to trust me with your thoughts because how can our love be perfect if you do not sweetheart he answered catching the white hand that was so near his own our love is perfect and so far as i am concerned there shall never be a cloud on such a dazzling sky i she smiled ah you talk romance just now she said but i want our love to be something more than romance i want it to be a grand and reality i if i am not worthy to be the companion of your very soul you will not you cannot love me long now no i for he had possessed himself of the dear little hand again and was covering it with kisses you see it is very sweet just now to sit by the fire together and look at each other and feel how happy we are but life does not go on like that and your life my belongs to the world to you to you said passionately i give it to you i you know the song i set my life in your hand mar it or make it sweet x set my life in your i lay my heart at your feet rose and leaning over us kissed his forehead the master christian yes i know i and i know you mean what you say i i could not imagine you telling an not even in making love i and she laughed though there are many of your sex who think any amount of lies under similar circumstances i and it is just because i have found men such practised that i have the reputation of being heartless did you ever think me heartless hesitated a moment yes he admitted at last frankly i did till i knew better i was told stop i i know all you were told said drawing her slim figure up with a pretty dignity as she moved back to her place by the fire you were told that i was the cause of the death of the so i was unhappily but not through my own fault the actor known to be one of the most and brutal of men me in public the defended me hence the combat and its fatal end which no one has more bitterly than i was never a gentleman could have been one had he chosen and i confess i cared very much for him at one time you loved him said trying to master a pang of jealousy yes i loved him till he proved himself of love there was a silence i tell you all this said then slowly and emphatically	33
that you may know me at once as i am i wish to hide nothing from you i have read all your books i know your of life your hatred of your contempt of a lie in your love for me you must have complete knowledge of my nature and confidence in my truth i would never give my life to any man unless he trusted me absolutely unless i was sure he felt i was a real for him i love you but i also love your work and your aims and i go with all your thoughts and wish to share all your but i must feel that you will never me never set me down on the level of mean and small natured women who cannot sacrifice themselves or their personal for another s sake it is not for me to the master christian say that the concerning me are it is for my life to show and prove they are not but i must be trusted not suspected and if you give me your life as you say i will give mine to help make yours happier asking from you in return just your faith your faith as well as your love like a fair queen she stood royal in her look bearing and attitude and bent his head low in reverence before her as he once more kissed her hand my wife he said simply and the silence that followed was as that of god s on that perfect marriage which is scarcely ever in all the world the marriage of two souls which like twin flames unite and bum upward clear to heaven as one society soon learned the news of the s to the eccentric englishman and with its million tongues discussed the in all tones most people preferring to say with the usual society kindness that was not quite such a self sacrificing as he seemed to be he was going to marry for money some few ventured to remark that was charming in herself and well worth winning but the more practical this view of the case at once pretty women are to be had by the score they said it is the money that tells i caught these and was in a manner stung by he said very little however and to all the congratulations he received merely gave coldly civil thanks and so the went to work again in their own peculiar way and said well i she will have an for a husband that is one thing a stuck up insolent sort of chap not a bit of go in him which was true had no go go means in modem to drink stupid to bet on the most trifling passing events and to talk that would disgrace a stable boy as well as to amuse with all sorts of mean and vulgar which are carried on through the and thus was a sad failure in tip top circles but the tip top circles are not a desirable heaven to every man and did not care much as to what sort of comments were passed on himself provided he could see always queen it over her in that graceful gracious way of conquest which was her special peculiarity and charm among her friends no one perhaps was happier in s happiness than her nature was of that rare quality which like a harp to every touch and the joy of others swept over her with a gladness which made her more glad than if she had received some boon a the master christian for her own benefit was exceedingly angry at the whole affair and whenever s was spoken of he assumed an expression of pained and personal which was almost grotesque such a marriage is ridiculous he declared can see how utterly the two are in tastes habits and opinions they will the day they ever met and not all the gentle of his own could soothe his ruffled humour or make him accept the inevitable with g race was exceedingly troubled and puzzled by his almost childish she did not yet understand the nature of a man who was to himself all in all and who could not endure the idea that any woman whom he personally condescended to admire should become the possession of another no matter how completely that woman might be beyond his own reach poor i she was very simple very foolish indeed she never imagined it could be possible for a man to carry on five or six at once and never be found out yet this was the kind of life her ideal found the most suitable to his habit and temperament and he had made a mental note of as one whom he proposed to add to his little list of so that her engagement of marriage to one who though reserved in manner and without go was yet every inch a gentleman and a determined of and had considerably disturbed his little plans and the of anything he had set his heart upon greatly displeased him he generally had his own way in most things and could not at all comprehend why he was not to have it now but among all the people who discussed the intended marriage there were two who were so well satisfied as to be almost and these were the and these met together in one of the private chambers set apart for the use of the court in the and heartily congratulated each other on the and of which meant as they considered the consequent removal of a fierce opponent to the roman catholic movement in england did i not tell you said as he d ic the master christian papers he had been carrying	33
and sat down at a table to glance over them did i not tell you that when all other arguments fail the one of woman can be brought in to every business though in a way contented was not altogether so sure of his goal he remembered with an thrill of doubt the little of words he had had with the fair in the woods you take your thoughts for deeds and judge as fully accomplished while they are still in he said it is true that the engagement of marriage is settled but can you be certain that in religious matters the wife may not go with her husband what exclaimed opening his dark eyes quickly as a flash of hell fire them at the very idea do you suggest that the last of her race b race which back to its earliest source has been distinguished for its faithful to mother church and has moreover added largely to the could be otherwise than our obedient and daughter per la if i thought she could turn against us her marriage should never take place and he brought his fist down with a fierce blow on the papers before him the marriage should never take place echoed how could you prevent it the pope himself should said with increasing fury losing a little of his self control conceive for a moment the wealth of the being used to the s theories and feed his rascal poor do you know what s is no i suppose you do not i but i do she tries to keep it a secret but i have made it my business to find out it is enormous and it is ever increasing with all the fanciful creature s clothes and jewels and way of living her life she not a quarter nor half a quarter of her income and yet you actually venture to suggest that her power is so slight over the man who is now her promised husband that she would voluntarily allow him to use all that huge amount of money as he pleased outside the i the master christian spoke with such passionate that thought it prudent not to him further by argument so he merely said you expect her to persuade him to embrace our faith naturally i answered and she can and will do so if she cannot or will not she must be made to do so i he bent over his papers again and them impatiently but his hand trembled the pale december sunlight glittered through a stained glass window above him and cast deep violet rays about his chair stood where the same touched his pale face with a crimson glow as of fire this is a busy morning with us said without looking up the of will be pronounced to day and what is even more important cardinal is summoned by his s command to wait upon him this afternoon bringing the boy that boy who is always with him ah there is a history there interrupted it should be remembered that this boy was a witness of the miracle in and he was also present at the scandal in paris he should have been sent for ere now he more than anyone must surely know how the miracle was accomplished for the worthy tells me he is wise beyond his years i so his wisdom will be put to the test to day said coldly do you not think it strange here he raised his eyes from his papers and somewhat too always supposing the miracle is a case of conspiracy that no trace has been discovered of the man had moved to a book case and was standing close to it turning over a bound manuscript yes the whole business looks as black as murder he said looked at him sharply murder you suppose that has been murdered certainly i suppose it it is more than a week now since we heard that he had mysteriously disappeared and still there is no news what can it be but murder but i do the master christian a moment suppose that our good saint is concerned in it i and he smiled turning over the carelessly his dark brows no no i he said that would not be possible cardinal is not that kind of man he would rather bear the heaviest weight of punishment for himself than allow another to suffer that i know of him and though i do not admire his extreme views on this point and do not think them i give him full credit for this particular and uncommon form of i or christianity i said still smiling pushed aside his papers and leaning his head on one hand frowned at the light which streamed through the jewel like window above him yes or christianity if you like he said for christianity et simple would be in its primitive simplicity it is an impossible creed founded by the divine it needs divine beings to comprehend and follow it beings not of this world nor to the things of this world and to exist in the world made of the world s clay and the world s inherited associations and yet not be of it is to be judged true there have been saints and mar s there are saints and now unknown and unheard of but nevertheless consumed by flames more cruel perhaps than those which physically bum the flesh of future progress and how are they estimated as all to be human and yet above humanity is the supreme sin for that very the multitude cried out not this man but and to this day we all prefer to christ hence the power of the church put back the volume he had been	33
notwithstanding the miracle notwithstanding the miracle i echoed for the miracle is doubtful the holy father is not satisfied of its truth yes there is no doubt about it saint is in trouble it would be better for him had he never come out of his long retirement but perhaps he was compelled to look after his a smile faintly over s face but he said not a word in answer discovering an error in one of the documents he was examining he called s attention to it and the conversation drifted to trivial subjects but the thoughts of both men were elsewhere and not even the news received that morning of the of one hundred thousand pounds to the shrine of from a in the miraculous virgin there absorbed so much of their brain powers as the imminent trial for it was little else of cardinal in the presence of the boy to whom he so openly gave his confidence and protection meanwhile the good himself was vi the master christian troubled during his in rome he had g own thinner and paler and the fine spiritual delicacy of his features had become more while his clear blue eyes shone from under their deeply arched brows with a flashing that was almost often when about to enter his room with haste his brother in law prince would see him kneeling before his absorbed one might almost say in prayer and he would softly move away again with a deep sense of awe and a feeling that some higher power than any on earth sustained the venerable and inspired both his words and actions but with all his patient sometimes passionate prayer earnest meditations and constant study of the the cardinal himself was more or less heavy hearted and his master s phrase my soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death was one which he often breathed in the solitude and extremity of his own position the news of the disappearance of had materially added to his difficulties and now he had been commanded with a certain in the summons to wait upon the sovereign in a private audience bringing with him the boy who could or would give no further account of himself than that of a world s and stray prepared for this visit and arrayed in all the splendour his rank in the church the gentle old man looked paler and more fragile than ever and the e trouble he felt at the express laid upon him concerning showed itself in the deep of anxiety marked upon his brow and the pain in his thoughtful eyes prince s own man servant had assisted him to dress for the impending and just as the last folds of his attire were being set in place a knock was heard at the door of his apartment and prince himself entered a for you brother he said i have brought it myself thinking it may perhaps immediately concern your visit to the pope to day the cardinal with a gentle word of thanks opened the envelope handed to him praise be to god he said simply as he read its contents has passed to the higher and he crossed brow and breast i the master christian exclaimed to this world yes answered he died peacefully last night this message is from his son a faint smile over s dark features the ban of has not been declared he said it will be a somewhat announcement cardinal folded the ready to take with him to the the church can even the dead he said sorrowfully if such an extreme measure is judged it will doubtless be carried out wonderful christian charity murmured under his breath to a corpse for that is all they can do the soul of the man is god s affair cardinal answered nothing for just then the young entered the room in readiness to accompany his venerable protector and friend to the and the old man s eyes rested upon him with a wistful wondering trouble and anxiety which he could not conceal smiled up at him that rare and beautiful smile which was like sunshine in darkness but the cardinal s sad expression did not alter the is no more he said gently as the boy drew near his sins and sufferings are ended and his joys have begun i answered for he set his life right with the world before he left it child you talk as a very wise man might said prince his rugged brows into a kindly smile but the unfortunate is not likely to be judged in that way it will be said of him that he the world before he left it when truth is made scandal and right is made wrong said it will surely be a god forgotten world will be i think it is already said prince it is said that the patience of the almighty is but i do not feel sure of that in my own mind science teaches us that many a world has been destroyed before now and sometimes i feel as if our turn were soon coming here the man servant having completely finished arranging the cardinal s attire made ov v the master christian and left the room and the cardinal himself proceeded into the adjoining where he found his niece waiting to see him dearest uncle she said making her pretty as he approached her i must ask you to forgive me for coming to your rooms just now when your time is so much taken up and when i know you have to go to the but i want to tell you one thing thai may perhaps please you my picture is finished i finished echoed the cardinal then taking her hands he added i congratulate you dear child with all my heart and i pray	33
that the reward of your long and patient toil may be worthy of you and when are we to see your v to morrow answered and her cheeks flushed and her eyes sparkled i shall be busy all today arranging it for exhibition in the best light tomorrow morning is to see it first then my father will come and you and and she smiled as she met the boy s gentle look and queen has promised to be here at mid day first and then your father said prince with a touch of melancholy in his tone ah well i suppose it must always be so the lover s love the stranger s love is greater than the love of j the love of home yet sometimes i fancy that the over s love often turns out to be a passing impulse more than a real truth and that the home love itself afterwards with the best and the power and not trusting himself to say more he abruptly left the room looked after him a little troubled the cardinal took her hand he is your father dear girl i he said gently and he cannot but feel it hard at first to be to a second place in your affections sighed i cannot help it she said is my very life i i should have no ambition no joy in anything if he did not love me i over the cardinal s fine open face there came an expression of great pain that is he said gravely we make a grievous mistake ne love human beings too i the master christian ly for they are not the gods we would make of them like ourselves they are subject to sin and their sins often create more for us than our own i ah but we can save our beloved ones from sin answered with a beautiful upward look of exaltation that is love s greatest mission it is a mission that cannot always be fulfilled said the cardinal sorrowfully then after a pause he added the is dead dead i and turned very pale his son his son sends the message and he handed her the he had received she read it and returned it to him then made the sign of the cross may he rest in peace he died true yes he died true but remember child neither truth nor love are spared their crown of thorns love cannot save would that it could it may warn it may pray it may watch it may hope but if despite its tenderness the sinner sins what can love do then it can pardon i said softly deeply moved the good took her hand and patted it gently dear child god g ant your powers of forgiveness may never be put to the test he ejaculated fervently the one sin according to our lord is treachery may that never come your way it can never come my way through i answered smiling and for the rest i do not care stood by silently with thoughtful downcast eyes but at these last words of hers he raised his head and looked full at her with a touch of melancholy in his straight regard ah that is wrong he said you should care you must care for the rest of the world we must all learn to care for others more than ourselves and if we will not learn god sometimes takes a hard way of teaching us s head drooped a little then she said i do care for others i think perhaps my picture will prove that for me but the tenderness i have for the sorrows of the world is and perhaps it i the master christian myself honestly i feel even that through my love for if he were not in the world i am afraid i should not love the world so much i the cardinal said no more for just then a servant entered and announced that his eminence s carriage was in waiting bending low once more before her uncle kissed his ring and said softly tomorrow and echoed the word to morrow as she bade them both a smiling and left the apartment when she had gone and he was left alone with his the cardinal stood for a few minutes absorbed in silent meditation mechanically gathering his robes about him after a pause of evident and trouble he approached the boy and gently laid a hand upon his shoulder he said do you understand whom it is that you are going to see yes replied quickly the head of the church one who holds an office constituted by man long after christ it was founded upon the name and memory of the peter who publicly denied all knowledge of his master that is how i understand the person i am to see to day i cardinal s face was a study of varying expressions as he heard these words my child you must not say these things in the pope s presence i lifted his radiant eyes with a look of calm confidence dear friend you must trust me i he said they have sent for me have they not to this place you call the they desire to see me and to question me that being so whatever god bids me say i will say fearing nothing a strong shook the cardinal s nerves he to find words of wisdom and instruction but somehow language failed him he felt blinded and and warned by this impending sense of made an instant effort to brace himself up and master the strange fainting that threatened to him as it had frequently done before he succeeded and without speaking again to but only bending one	33
earnest the master christian upon him he quitted his rooms and proceeded slowly down the g eat marble staircase of the a staircase famous even in rome for its beauty stepping lightly at his side and reaching his carriage entered it with his and was rapidly driven away arrived at the the largest palace in the world which contains so agree in saying no less than eleven thousand different apartments with their courts and halls and they descended at the di the guard on duty as the car passed in on they went into the chilly and of the and so up the stone stairs to the do san and thence towards the steps which lead to the pope s private apartments another guard met them here and likewise saluted in fact almost at every step of the way and on every landing guards were on duty either standing motionless or marching wearily up and down the of their footsteps waking dismal echoes from the high roofs and stone at last they reached the a vast hall rich only with and and here another guard met them who without words escorted the cardinal and his young companion through a number of waiting rooms made more or less magnificent by glorious paintings wonderful and unique till they reached at last what is called the anti where none but are permitted to enter and wait for an audience with the supreme at the door of this holy of stood a on duty but he might have been a figure of painted marble for all the notice he took of their approach as they passed into the room which was exceedingly high and narrow rose from a table near the window and received the cardinal with a kind of stately gravity which agreed with the coldness and silence of the general surroundings a small lean man in black also came forward exchanging a few low whispered words with as he did so and this individual after the cardinal mysteriously disappeared through a little door to the right he was the pope s confidential va t o the master christian age who was perhaps more in the secrets of everybody and than even himself i am afraid we shall have to keep you waiting a little while said in his smooth rich voice which despite its mellow ring had something false about it like the tone produced by an invisible crack in a fine bell your young friend and here he swept a keen inquisitive glance over from face to feet and from feet to face again will perhaps be tired i am never tired answered nor impatient asked with a air nor impatient wonderful boy if you are never tired or impatient you will be eminently fitted for the said his lip curling with a faint touch of derision for even the best of us g ow sometimes weary in and turning from him with a movement which implied both and indifference he addressed himself to whose face was clouded and whose eyes were troubled the unfortunate affair of our friend will be settled to day he began when the cardinal raised one hand with a gentle solemnity it is settled he returned not even the church can between and his maker now i uttered an exclamation of annoyance dead he ejaculated his forehead growing crimson with the anger he inwardly repressed since when last night he passed away replied the cardinal according to the i have just received from his son but he has been dying for some time and what he told me in paris was no lie i explained his exact position to you quite recently on the day you visited my niece at her he had a serious disease of the heart he might as the doctors said have lived at the utmost two years but the excitement of recent events has evidently proved too much for him as i told you he felt t v s i ci cur at any moment and he did not m vi to n the master christian false impression of his character i trust that now the holy father may be inclined to pardon him in death if not in life walked up and down the narrow room impatiently i doubt it he said at last i very much doubt it i the man may be dead but the scandal he caused remains and his death has made the whole position very much more difficult for you my lord cardinal for as is not alive to endure the penalty of his it is probable you may have to suffer for having it bent his head gently i shall be ready and willing to suffer whatever god commands he answered for i most faithfully believe that nothing can injure my soul while it rests as i humbly place it in his holy keeping paused in his pacing to and fro and gazed at the frail figure and fine old face before him with mingled compassion and curiosity you should have lived in the early days of the faith he said you are too literal too exact in your following of christian that sort of thing does not work nowadays must be maintained what is asked suddenly gave him a careless glance cardinal must teach you that in he replied with a little smile but briefly is an opinion or theory derived from the and as doctrine by the church an opinion or theory of man founded on the words of christ said just so but if christ was divine should any man presume to a theory on what he himself said asked are not his own plain words enough stared at the young speaker half angrily his own plain words enough he repeated mechanically what do you mean boy i mean answered simply that if he were truly a of god	33
in himself as the church declares him to be that man can dare to mere on god s own utterance i the master christian there was a dead pause after a few minutes of chill silence addressed the cardinal your young friend has a dangerous tongue he said sternly you had best warn or command him that he set a guard upon it in the holy father s presence there is no need to either warn or command me said a smile his fair face as he met the angry eyes of with the full calmness of hi own i have been sent for and i am here had i not been sent for i should not have come now that i have been called to answer for myself i will answer with truth and without fear for what can any man cause me to suffer if i am to myself true another heavy pause ensued an invisible something was in the air a sense of that vast supernatural which is deeply at the core of the natural universe a grave mystery which seemed to all visible things with a sudden shadow of fear the silence prevailing was painful almost terrible a great clock in the room one of the holy father s gifts the minutes slowly away with a jewel studded which in its regular movements to and fro sounded in such a stillness raised his eyes to a great ivory which was displayed upon the wall against a background of rich purple velvet was standing immediately in front of it and the tortured head of the christ drooped over him as though in a sorrow stricken a dull anger began to s usually well tempered nerves and he was searching in his mind for some sentence wherewith to and the confident ease of the boy when the door leading to the pope s apartments was slowly pushed open to admit the entrance of cardinal had not seen him since the day of the scandal in paris and a faint colour came into his pale cheeks as he noted the air of condescension and authority with which here on his own ground as one of the of the pope greeted him the holy father is ready to receive you he said but i regret to inform your eminence that his can see no way to ot the grave of the master christian the moreover the fact of the sin son being known to the world as makes it more than ever necessary that the ban of should be passed upon him especially as those in the i are under the delusion that the penalty of has become more or less and we have now an opportunity for making publicly known the truth that it still exists and may be used by the church in extreme situations when judged and fitting then in this case the church must the dead said the cardinal quietly s face turned livid dead he exclaimed i do not believe silently handed him the received that morning read it his eyes sparkling with rage how do i know this is not a trick he said the accursed of a son may have a lie i hardly think he would condescend to that returned the cardinal calmly it would not be worth his while you must remember that to one of his particular views church either for his father or himself would mean nothing he makes himself responsible for his conduct to god only and whatever his faults he certainly believes in god i read through the again we must place this before his he said and it will very seriously annoy him i i fear your eminence here he gave a quick meaning look at will be all the more severely for having the s sins is it wrong to forgive asked his clear young voice breaking through the air like a silver bell rung suddenly and when one cannot reach the guilty should one punish the innocent fiercely at the fair candid face turned near his own you are too young to ask questions i he said roughly wait to be questioned yourself and think twice aye three times before you answer i the bright expression of the boy s countenance seemed to become as he heard take no thought how or what ye shall speak for o the master christian it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak he said softly for it is not ye that speak but the spirit of your father which in you i flushed angrily and his hand clenched those words were addressed by our lord to his he retorted of whom our holy father the pope is the one representative they were not spoken to an ignorant lad who barely knows his yet were not the themselves told went on steadily to be humble as ignorant children if they would enter the kingdom of heaven and did not christ say one of these little ones which believe in me it were better for him that a were hanged about his neck and that he were drowned in the depths of the sea i am sure there are many such little ones who believe in christ perhaps too without knowing any and even must beware of offending them i does this boy follow your teaching in the quoting of scripture with so a tongue asked turning sharply round upon the cardinal returned his angry look with one of undisturbed serenity my son i have taught him nothing he replied i have no time as yet and i may add no inclination to become his he speaks from his own nature it is a nature that needs training said smiling and by a gesture s threatening outburst of wrath to quote scripture without due consideration for	33
the purpose to which it is to be applied does not actually constitute an but it a disregard and ignorance of however here he smiled still more is a hard word for the comprehension of the young this poor little lad cannot be expected to grasp its meaning raised his bright eyes and fixed them steadily on the priest s countenance oh yes he said quietly i understand it perfectly i originally it meant the word or discourse of god it has now come to mean t e i ot or the master christian and differences of men on the things of god but god s word remains god s i no man can alter it and preached it so plainly that the most simple child cannot fail to understand it was about to speak when again interrupted him patience patience i he said soothingly perchance we must say this with a flash of derision from his dark eyes that a prophet hath arisen in listen to me boy i if christ spoke as plainly as you say and if all he preached could be understood by the people why should he have founded a church to teach his doctrine he did not found a church answered he tried to make a human brotherhood he trusted twelve men they all him in his hour of need and one betrayed him i when he died and arose again from the dead they sought to give themselves a divine standing on his divinity they preached his word to the world true but they preached their own as well hence the church s angry eyes rolled in his head with an excess of wrath and amazement surely some evil spirit possesses this boy he exclaimed me he is a rank a heathen i and yet he lives in the companionship of cardinal both priests looked at the cardinal in angry astonishment but he stood silent one wrinkled hand holding up the trailing folds of his scarlet robe his head slightly bent and his whole attitude expressive of profound patience and resignation turned his eyes upon him and smiled tenderly it is not the fault of cardinal that i think my own thoughts he said or that i speak as i have spoken from the beginning he found me lost and alone in the world and he sheltered me knowing not whom he sheltered let what blame there is in me therefore be mine alone and not his or another s his young voice so full of sweetness seemed to melt the cold and heavy silence into of warm feeling and a sudden sense of confusion and shame swept over the and calculating minds of the two men the master christian priests as they listened but before they could determine or contrive an answer the door was thrown open and the lean man in black entered and pausing on the threshold bowed slightly then raising his hand with a gesture which invited all to follow him turned again and walked on in front then crossing a small he drew aside a long curtain of purple heavily fringed with gold and opened a farther door here he stood bade and allowed cardinal to pass in first attended by and followed and then the closing the door behind them and pulling the rich curtain across sat down himself close outside it to be within call when the holy father should his attendance by means of a bell which hung immediately over his head and to while away the time he pulled from his pocket that day s issue of a well known republican paper one of the most anti tendency thereby showing that his constant humble attendance upon the head of the church had not made him otherwise than purely human or from his nature that peculiar quality with which most of us are endowed namely the of spirit which leads us often to say and do things which are least expected of us the pope s confidential was not from this failing he like the enjoyed the exciting rush and secret risk of money speculation he also had his little schemes of self advancement and as is natural to all who are engaged in a certain kind of service he took care to read that could be said by against the person or persons whom he served thus despite the important capacity he filled he was not a grade higher than the ordinary butler who makes it his business to know all the and of his master no man is a hero to his is a very true and even the head of the church the of the divine the in council was a mere nothing to the little man in black who had the power to insist on his changing a soiled for a clean one there are certain moments in life which seem with the history of ages when all the past present and future into the one now moments which if we are able to live through them with courage may decide a very eternity of after glory but which ii we fail to comprehend their mission pass taking with them the last opportunity of all good that shall ever be granted to us in this life such a moment appeared to the mind of cardinal to have presented itself to him as for the second time in ten days he found himself face to face with the sovereign the pale and aged man with the deep dark eyes set in such that as they looked out on the world through that depth of shadow seemed more like great jewels in the head of a skeleton than the eyes of a living human being on this occasion the pope was in a kind of semi state on a gilded chair covered with crimson velvet and a	33
rich of the same material embroidered and fringed with gold drooped in heavy folds above him attired in the usual white white white skull cap and white ornamented with the keys of st peter embroidered in gold thread at the ends his features pallid as marble and seemingly as cold everywhere even to the lips suggested with dreadful a corpse in clothes just lifted from its coffin and placed stiffly upright in a sitting position involuntarily cardinal as he made the usual necessary thought with a shrinking interior sense of horror at the of his own idea that the holy father as he then appeared might have posed to a painter of as the frail ghost of a dead faith for he looked so white and slender and fragile and transparent he sat so rigidly so coldly without a movement or a gesture that it seemed as if the touch of a hand might break him into so and delicate a figure of clay was he x the master christian when he spoke his harsh voice issuing from the long thin lips which scarcely moved even in utterance was startling in its the more so when its was as now it is my lord cardinal he said slowly keeping his dark eyes fixed on the venerable that i should be compelled to send for you so soon again on the same matters which since your arrival in rome have caused me so much anxiety this miracle of which you are declared to be the though for some inscrutable reason you persist in denying your own act is not yet properly and to make the case worse it seems that the man whom we with our instructions to the of has suddenly disappeared leaving no trace naturally there are strong suspicions that he has met with a violent death perhaps at the hands of the who are ever at work against the faith or else through the of the so called christian of whom is a leader in any case it is most that you a cardinal prince of the church should have permitted yourself to become involved in such a doubtful business the miracle may have taken place but if so you should have no cause to deny your share in it and however much you may be gifted with the power of healing i cannot reconcile your duty to us with the scandal i since you were here last i have that matter thoroughly i have read a full report of the address the preached from his pulpit in paris and i cannot no i cannot here the pope raised his thin white hand with a gesture of menace that was curiously powerful for one so seemingly frail i cannot forgive or forget the part you have taken in this deplorable affair i the cardinal looked up with a touch of pain and protest holy father i strove to obey the command of christ forgive that ye may be forgiven i i cannot be sorry that i did so obey it for now the is beyond the reach of either punishment or he must answer for his deeds to god alone the pope turned i s ey s in his the master christian like head to then to and seeing confirmation of the news in their looks fixed them again as as before upon the cardinal the faint shadow of a cold smile on his long like mouth dead i he murmured and he nodded slowly and beat with one finger on the back of the other hand as though keeping time mechanically to some funeral march in his brain dead a fortunate thing for him an escape from worse than death so far as this life is concerned but what of the next where the worm not and the fire is not and here the representative of st peter smiled dead but his works live after him and his sin son also lives to spread his writings through the world and the already to further license therefore the church must still publicly condemn his memory as a warning to the faithful and you cardinal must receive from us a necessary measure of for having one who in his last discourse to humanity attacked the church and it to one of your eminence and reputation the lesson may seem hard but a reproof can but the spirit and free it from that pride which humility i the cardinal bent his head patiently and remained silent advanced a step towards the throne the boy he began a slight animation warmed the chill of the pope s features true i had almost forgotten he said then to the cardinal where is the boy you rescued from the streets who lives with you and who witnessed the miracle at had till now stood aside half hidden in the shadow of the crimson which falling from ceiling to floor in rich luxurious folds draped the comers of the room but at these words he advanced at once i am here he said the pope with his fair head thrown back and his blue eyes flashing with all the soul oi vn i mv i the master christian intelligence he stood and the white figure of the old man in the gilded chair raised itself as if by some interior electric force slowly slowly higher and higher the deep set old eyes staring into the brilliant youthful ones staring staring till they seemed to and tremble under their brows like the last sparks of a flame about to fall into made a quick step forward my lord cardinal he said significantly should not your and stray have been taught how to himself before he came here he does not kneel to the holy father the cardinal	33
opened his lips to speak but stayed him by a slight gesture i may not kneel to any man i he said but to god only for it is written call no man your father upon the earth for one is your father which is in heaven neither be ye called masters for one is your master even christ how then and he came nearer to the pope s foot stool can you be called father or holy for there is none holy but god the deep silence which had fallen like a spell upon them all in the fell now with the pope the arms of his gilded chair forced himself fully upright and his lips trembled whence came you and of what are you he asked slowly his words with even more than his usual harsh distinctness that is my own secret i answered the boy the cardinal accepted me without question which is but a fresh proof of the cardinal s said the pope severely and we shall not follow his example in this or in any other matter and turning to he does this boy understand be is here as s witness to the miracle effected at as a witness to the truth yes i understand i said quickly before could answer the miracle was no miracle no miracle exclaimed the pope moved at last from his usual do you hear that turning excitedly to no miracle no miracle i repeated steadily nothing but the law of nature mt v xv the law of i v the master christian god which is love the child was healed of his infirmity by the power of unselfish prayer are we not told ask and ye shall receive but the asking must be pure the prayer must be by self interest god does not answer prayer that is paid for in this world s coin no miracle was ever wrought for a fee only when perfect love and perfect faith exist between the creature and the creator are all things possible a nervous of the pope s features showed his suppressed irritation at this reply the boy with us i he said angrily he his benefactor but he either does not understand or else is regardless of our authority i what do you not also believe asked placing one foot on the first step of the pope s throne and looking him in the face do you not even affirm that god answers prayers do you not pray do you not assert that you yourself are and helped nay even kept alive by the prayers of the faithful then why should you doubt that cardinal has by his prayer rescued one life the life of a little child is not your church built up for prayer do you not command it do you not even insist upon the vain which christ forbade do you not summon the people to pray in public though christ bade all who truly sought to follow him to pray in secret and amid all the false prayers the selfish the demands for curses and confusion to fall upon enemies and the cowardly for pardon from who do not repent that are sent up to the throne of the most high is it marvellous that one prayer pure of all self and ascending to god simply to ask for the life of a child should be heard and granted his voice rang through the silence with a pure unlike any human voice in the world and as he spoke the pope slowly drew back in his chair further and further away from the young beautiful face that confronted his own so steadily the dumb sense of that had before possessed and in the presence of this child seized them again now and slow tears up into the cardinal s eyes as clasping his withered hands hit v fc i the master christian in fear and awe listening and wondering overwhelmed by the strangeness of the scene like a white set in a gilded the representative of st peter huddled himself together reflections of the daylight on the crimson around him casting occasional of crimson his bony hands and features while on the first step of his throne the form of the beautiful boy with his fair face full flashing eyes and radiant hair stood like an angel suddenly descended at the of the s tomb faith must surely be weaker in these days than in the days of christ continued the were not always wise or brave but they believed in the power of their master you with so many centuries of prayer behind you will surely not say as john did master we saw one casting out devils in thy name and he not us because this miracle is unexpected and exceptional do you say of your good cardinal he not us remember how christ answered forbid him not for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name that can speak evil of me still the same silence reigned a shaft of sunlight falling through the high window touched the boy s hair with a flame of glory you sent for me he went on and i have come they say i must be taught will you teach me i would know many things tell me for one why are you here shut away from the cities and the people should you not be among them why do you stay here all alone you must be very unhappy i a sudden quivering light the jewel like dark eyes of the seeming in the chair its lips moved but no sound came from them to be here all alone went on and a whole world outside waiting to be comforted i to have vast wealth lying about you unused with millions and millions of	33
human beings in it were like images frozen into even cardinal appeared stricken by this mental and not a fold of his rich attire stirred with so much as a of natural breath only seemed truly alive his slight boyish figure was instinct with his face was radiant and his eyes brilliant as stars and now withdrawing himself a little from the motionless creature seated stiffly on the throne with its deep dark eyes alone giving sign of life by their stare and feverish glitter he raised his head with a royal gesture of mingled appeal and warning come out with me he exclaimed for there are things in the world to day wonderful beautiful and terrible take your share in them and find god in every glory for with all the wisdom and the splendour with all the flashing light of heaven poured out upon the darkness of the sorrowful star its people are weary they are lost in the confusion and of their own desires they would fain serve god but know not where to find him because a thousand aye a million stand in the way churches which are like a forest of dark trees out the radiance of the sun who his power and tenderness in the making of the simplest leaf the smallest bird is lost to the understanding and affection of humanity in the multitude of come out with me simple and pure gentle and strong tell all the lost and the wandering that there never was and never will be but one god supreme and perfect whose name is love whose work is love and whose messenger tor the master christian the new love instead of hate come out with me while it is yet day for the night when no man can work come and lift up the world by your very coming stretch out your hands in over kings and beggars alike there are other roses to give than golden ones to queens there are poor women who share half they earn with those still poorer there are obscure lives which in their very obscurity are forming the angel nature and weaving the angel s crown look for these in the world give them your golden roses leave rulers and alone for you should be above and beyond all rulers and you should be the herald of peace the of sin the of the fallen and the refuge of the distressed come out with me and be all this to the world so that when the master comes he may truly find you working in his another dead pause ensued not a not a breath disturbed the heavy silence which seemed to have grown deeper than before and looking eagerly again and closely into the pope s face went on with increasing and passion come out with me i he said or if you will not come then beware of the evil days which are at hand the people are wandering to and fro crossing all lands struggling one against the other up useless gold and fighting for but the day of the lord shall come like a thief in the night and blessed is he who shall be found watching watch the hour is growing dark and full of menace the nations are as frightened children losing faith losing hope losing strength put away put away from you the toys of time in your soul the thirst for gold for of this shall come nothing but corruption why trifle with the spirit of holy things why let your servants use the name of the most high to cover why for the power of things which passes away in the dust of destroyed for the power of the spirit is greater than all and so it shall be proved the spirit shall work in ways where it has never been before it shall depart from the churches which are unworthy of its divine inspiration it shall invest the paths of science it o xv doors of the locked the master christian stars it shall display the worlds invisible the secrets of men s hearts and of closed graves there will be terror and loss and confusion and shame to mankind and this world shall keep nothing of all its treasures but the cross of christ rome like shall fall and the powers of the church shall be judged as the powers of darkness rather than of light because they have rejected the word of their master and teach for doctrine the of men disaster shall follow swift upon disaster and the cup of trembling shall be drained again to its last as in the days unless unless perchance you will come out with me with the last words a sort of shock seemed to be imparted to the rigid figure in the chair springing upright suddenly his voice rang out like a yet clearly in the name of god he cried who and what is this boy how came he with cardinal and you do you stand by and permit this to me the living head of the church from a child l tramp of the streets who dares to speak to me who dares to reproach to aye ta and teach me as one having authority and not as the said with one swift flashing glance which like a shaft of lightning seemed to pierce through flesh and bone for as he met that radiant and commanding look the jewel like eyes of the pope lost their lustre and became fixed and he put his hand to his throat with a choking gasp for breath and like a dead body which had only been kept in place by some secret mechanical action he fell back	33
in his chair senseless his limbs stretching themselves out with a shudder into started from his stupor and rushed to his assistance ringing the bell violently which summoned the from the and with a fierce oath pushing aside rushed to the chair in which the pope s fainting figure lay all was confusion and in the excitement and terror which had overwhelmed cardinal at the scene suddenly touched him on the master christian follow me he said we are no longer needed here come let us go hence hardly knowing what he did the old man obeyed trembling in every limb as grasping him firmly by the hand led him from the apartment and on through the winding of the huge building out into the open air no one questioned them no one interfered with their progress was being sung in one of the many of st peter s and the solemn sound of the organ reached them softened and by distance as they stood on the steps of the where the cardinal pausing to recover breath and gazed at his strange in alarm and bewilderment he murmured feebly child i what have you done only what i am bound to do replied i have said no more than it is right to say it christ s words are true dear friend be at peace you will not suffer long the music stealing out from the distant chapel floated round them in large circles of solemn melody and the glow of sunset lit the clear sky with a warm red radiance with golden clouds of glory he would not come with me said with a slight gesture backward to the sombre they had just passed and he will never come but you will and smiling with his fair face turned to the radiant sky he rested his hand lightly on the cardinal s arm as they descended the broad marble steps and left the great palace of the together while the foregoing scene was taking place at the left to herself for some hours took the opportunity to set her great picture on view for the coming morrow both doors of her she began to arrange the room her huge canvas was already on a supplied with wheels which ran lightly and easily over the polished floor without making any sound at its summit a brass rod was attached and on this a curtain of golden coloured silk was hung the folds of which at present concealed the painting from view the top light of the was particularly good on this special afternoon as the weather was clear and the roman sky and bright as an and as she wheeled her great work into position sang for pure lightness of heart and that all was done in her she had the consciousness that what she had produced from her and hand was not altogether for though to the true artist no actual result can ever attain to the beauty of the first thought or ideal of the thing to be performed there is always the consolation that if one s best and truest feeling has been earnestly put into the work some touch however slight of that ideal beauty must remain the poet s poem is never so fine as the s thought the thought is from the immortal and invincible soul the poem has to be conveyed through the body clothed in language which must always be narrow and inadequate hence the artist s many and grievous to the eyes of the spirit all things appear because lifted out of the sphere of material vision but when we try to put these beautiful things made new for the delight of the sky children on paper or canvas in motionless marble or rhyme we are by air and the of bodily feeling so it was with in the master christian whose compact little head were folded the splendid dreams of genius like sleeping in a magic cave and thoughtful and brilliant though she was she could not jn her great tenderness for her lover foresee that daily contact with his weaker and smaller nature would kill those dreams as surely as a frost wind the of the rose and that gradually very gradually the fibre of his intelligence mingling with hers would make a paltry and rough weaving of the web of life instead of a free and gracious pattern she never thought of such possibilities she would have rejected the very idea of them with scorn and indignation she would have declared that her love for was the very root and source of her art that for him she worked for him she lived so indeed she believed in her finely fervent self delusion but it was not ordained that this should last for hers was a nature too rare and valuable to be sacrificed and the higher had begun to approve her as precious therefore as is the case with all precious things the furnace was preparing for the of the gold the appointed angel of her fate was already hovering near holding ready the cup of bitterness which all must drain to the before knowing what it is to drink of the new wine in the kingdom of god i wonder thought the girl now as she stepped lightly from one corner of her to the other a here a bust there and to the whole room that air of grace and luxury which can only be bestowed by the trained hand of a practised artist i wonder if will be proud people will certainly talk of my picture some will praise and some will condemn and this mixture of praise and condemnation is what is called fame but will my beloved love me more will he be glad that i am found worthy in	33
the world s sight or will he think i am his place ah and she paused in her work looking vaguely before her with thoughtful wondering eyes that is where we women workers have to suffer men grudge us the but they forget that we are trying to win it only that we may wear the rose more i a woman tries to do a great and a noble thing not that she may x ot man by su the master christian but that she may be more worthy to be his mate and in the world and also that her children may reverence her for something more than the mere animal duties of nursing and tenderness how proud to day would be any man or woman who could point to and say she was my mother i and yet perhaps this idea of mine is too fantastic the left a son and he has nothing of their genius or their enthusiasm she moved to the grand piano and set it open as she did so a thought of came across her mind and she smiled dear little rose bud of a woman she mused how glad i am that she is happy and how delightful it is to see the pride she takes in how she studies his books and over his and theories i believe she knows them all by heart and what wonderful schemes she is building up in her mind for the people in whom he is so interested what a sensation she will make if she to work with her husband as thoroughly and as her ideas imply her marriage will be an immense disappointment to certain persons i could name and she smiled dear with all her goodness and grace and beauty her name will sound more at the than even the name of she had lifted a cluster of lilies from a to them and as her thoughts turned in this direction she bent her eyes upon their large white and a faint rose flush warmed her cheeks ce et airs de d de pour de s et it is strange she thought that i should have so many months with through my admiration for his books and that he should out to be the son of poor it is a pretty name and since we met since that terrible scene in the church in paris since he knew who i was he has not written and and for his poor father death i suppose he it c j the master christian telegraph the news of the death to my uncle but i am sorry he does not write to me any more valued his letters they were such brilliant essays on all the movements and politics of the time it was just a little secret of mine it was pleasant to think i was in correspondence with such a genius however he has had so much to think of since then she set the lilies in their again their delicious as she did so the flowers of tlie saints and i she said i do not wonder that the artists chose them for that purpose they are so white and pure and a slight crash disturbed her self communion and she hastened to see what had fallen it was a small clay figure of a copy of a found in the ruins of the nail supporting its had given way had been rather fond of this little work of art and as she knelt to pick up the fragments she was more vexed at the accident than she car to own she looked wistfully at the pretty broken limbs of the little god as she put them all in a heap together what a pity she i am not at all su yet i wish anything in the room had come to grief rather than this it is not a good omen i she moved across the floor again and stood for a moment one hand resting lightly on the silk which veiled her picture there was no truth at all in that rumour about s as they call her she thought she serves as a model to half the artists in rome unfortunate creature she is one of the most and reckless of her class so i hear and is far too refined and fastidious to even recognise such a woman outside his the only wished to defend himself by trying to include another man in the charge of when he himself was meditating the most designs on poor one must try and think as kindly as possible of him now he is dead but i cannot think it was right of him to accuse my just then she heard a soft knocking it came from the at the end of the one which communicated with a co j t hi vi i v its turn the master christian opened out to a narrow street leading down to the it was the entrance at which models presented themselves whenever needed them called a melodious voice which she recognised at once as the dearest to her in the world she hurried to the door but did not open it she said softly putting her lips close to the why are you here i want to come in said i have news i must see you i she hesitated a moment longer and then she the bolt and admitted him he entered with a smiling and victorious air i am all alone here she said at once before he could speak father is at on some business and my uncle the cardinal is at the will you not come back later for all answer took her in his arms quite a tenderness and kissed her softly on brow and lips no i will	33
stay he said i want to have you all to myself for a few minutes i came to tell you sweetest that if i am to be the first to see your picture and pass judgment on it i had better see it now for am going away to morrow i going away i echoed where to he answered only for a little while they have purchased my picture et roses for one of the there and they want me to see if i approve of the position in which it is to be placed they also wish to honour me by a banquet or something of the kind an unnecessary but still i think it is perhaps advisable that i should go he spoke with an of indifference but any observer of him whose eyes were not blinded by affection could have seen that he from himself an atmosphere of self at the banquet proposition little honours impress little minds and a faint thrill of pain moved as she saw him thus delighted with so poor and ordinary a compliment in any man it would have moved her to contempt but in well i she was only a t t the master christian yes perhaps it might look of you not to accept she said putting away from her the suggestion that perhaps if loved her as much as he professed an invitation to a banquet at would have had no attraction for him as compared with being present at the first view of her picture on the morning she had herself appointed i think under the circumstances you had better not see the picture till you come back i now he exclaimed you know i will not consent to that i you have promised me that i shall be the first to see it and here i am i it should be seen by the morning light said a touch of beginning to affect her this light is pale and though the afternoon is so clear you cannot see the to the best advantage i am i not a painter also asked putting his arm round her waist and can i not guess the effect iq the morning light as well as if i saw it come the great and he laughed you began it before we were think what patience i have had for nearly two years did not reply at once somehow his light laugh upon her she said at last raising her truthful beautiful eyes fully to his i do not think you quite understand this picture has absorbed a great deal of my heart and soul i as it were painted my own life blood into it for i mean it to declare a truth and convey a lesson it will either cover me with or crown me with lasting fame you speak as if it were some toy with which i had amused myself these three years do you not believe that a woman s work may be as serious as earnest and strongly as a man s still clasping her round the waist drew her closer and pressing her head against his breast he looked down on her smiling what sweet eyes you have he said the sweetest the most trusting the most eyes i have ever seen it would be impossible to paint such eyes s m ce v m holy water i the master christian not that i believe very much in holy water as a painter s medium i he laughed he had a well shaped mouth and was fond of smiling in order that he might show his even teeth which contrasted with his dark moustache yes my has beautiful eyes and such soft pretty hair i and he it gently like little golden with a beam of the sunlight caught in it is not that a pretty compliment i think i ought to have been a poet instead of a painter i you are both said fondly with a little sigh of rest and pleasure as she in his arms you will be the greatest artist of your time when you paint large subjects instead of small ones his tender hold of her relaxed a little you think et les roses a small subject he asked with a touch of in his tone surely if a small study is perfect it is better than a large one which is imperfect of course it is replied the girl quickly by i did not mean the size of the canvas i meant the character of the subject there is nothing small in the beauty of woman declared with an enthusiastic air her form is divine her delicious flesh tints her delicate curves her her exquisite combined with her touching weakness these qualities make of woman the one the only subject for a painter s brush when the painter is a man involuntarily thought of who had posed for the and a little shiver ran over her nerves like a sudden wind playing on the of an harp gently she withdrew herself from her lover s embrace and when the painter is a woman should the only subject for her brush be the physical beauty of man she asked ve an airy gesture of remonstrance you shock me how can you suggest such a thing the two sexes differ in tastes and aspirations as absolutely as in form man is an creature he must have his liberty even if it reaches license woman is his dependent that is nature s law man is the conqueror woman is his the master christian quest we cannot alter these things that is one reason for the prejudice existing against woman s work if it that of man we consider it a kind of morbid growth an unnatural	33
on the face of the universe in fact it is a wrong balance of the intellectual forces which in their action should always remain on the side of man but if man his power may it not be taken from him altogether suggested if man knowing that a life of self indulgence his intellectual capacity still in that career and woman studying patiently to perfect herself refuses to follow his example of vice may it not happen that the intellectual forces may range themselves on the side of right rather than wrong and invest woman with a certain in the end it is a problem worth thinking of looked sharply at her had she heard anything of his private life in rome a life he kept carefully concealed from who might be likely to report his little amusements at the a slight very slight touch of shame pricked him as he noted grace of her figure the dainty of her head on her slim white throat the almost royal air of dignity and sweetness which seemed to surround her there was no doubt whatever of her superiority to the women he generally with and for a moment he felt but he soon dismissed his brief with a laugh no sweet he said gaily it is not worth thinking of believe me i will not enter into any such with you my present time is too short and your attractions too many why did you slip out of my arms so just now surely you were not offended come back come and we will go up to the g eat picture as lovers should together in each other s arms and you shall then draw the mysterious curtain or shall i she still hesitated then after a pause she came towards him once more the soft colour alternately flushing and her cheeks as she laid her hand on his arm you did not answer me she said when i asked you just now if you a v s work could the master christian be as as a man s sometimes indeed more sa you the question why did i it and took her hand in his own and kissed it i would not pain you for the world a slight shadow clouded her face you will not pain me she answered except by not being true to yourself and to me you know how i have worked you know how high i have set my ambition for your sake to make myself more worthy of you but if you do honestly think that a woman s work in art must always be inferior to a man s no matter how she studies no matter even if she has so herself in drawing and colouring as to be admitted the equal of men in these studies if the result must in your mind be nevertheless beneath that of the masculine why say so because then then then what my sweet philosopher asked lightly again kissing the hand he held she fixed her eyes fully on him then she replied slowly i should know you better i should understand you more an unpleasant affected his nerves and his eyelids quivered and as though struck by a sudden shaft of the sun this was the only sign he ever gave of the difficulty he at times experienced in meeting the straight clear glance of his you would know me more and love me less is that it he said carelessly my dear girl why do you press the point if you will have it i tell you frankly i think women are growing very clever much too clever in fact and that the encouragement and given to them in the arts is a very great mistake because they are not all like my you are one in a or rather one in a million and for one we shall have a world of female calling themselves artists and entering into competition with us as if we had not already quite enough competition among our own sex i i honestly believe that with very rare exceptions woman s work is decidedly inferior and as compared to man s quickly disengaged herself from his hold her lips her eyes were full oi a fe sa the master christian brilliancy her slight figure seemed to grow taller as she stood for a moment like a queen regarding him from under her fair level brows then come and see she said i am not proud i make no boast at all of what i have done and no one or the faults of my work more than i but i know i have not altogether failed she moved away from him and stood opposite her veiled canvas then as followed and joined her with a swift action which had something of defiance as well as grace in it she swept aside the concealing curtain with an involuntary cry and then remained motionless and silent stricken dumb and stupid by the magnificent creation which confronted him this s a woman s work this conception this perfect drawing this wondrous colouring fully facing him the central glory of the whole picture was a figure of christ unlike any other christ ever imagined by poet or painter an form through which the very light of heaven itself seemed to shine supreme majestic and god like the face was more beautiful than any ever dreamed of by the of the classic it was the face of a great and youthful yet and commanding round the broad brows a crown of thorns shone like a every point tipped with pale fire and from the light floating folds of intense white which cloud like clung about the divine form faint flashes of the	33
lightning gleamed above this grand christ the heavens were opened pouring out a rain of such purity of colour and radiance as never had been seen in any painted canvas before but beneath the clouds were black as midnight confused and drifting darkly on a strong wind as it seemed into and witch like shapes wherein there were seen the sun and moon revolving like of fire lost from their and about to become extinct and among those shifting black were a crowd of human creatures floating and falling into unknown depths of darkness and striking out wild arms of appeal and entreaty and despair the faces ct were all familiar and were the life like traits of many of those n m history of the the master christian time chief among them was the sovereign and wan and dark eyed he was depicted as of iron round the body of a beautiful youth laurel crowned the leaves of the laurel bearing faint gold letters which the word science huddled beside him was a well known leader of the busily counting up heaps of gold another remarkable figure was that of a well known of the church of england who leaning forward eagerly sought to grasp and hold the garment of the pope but was dragged back by the hand of a woman crowned with an imperial after these and other principal personages came a confusion of faces all yet study to discern creatures drifting into the darkness one was the whose name was celebrated through france clutching at his bleeding victim and borne by the and forms and faces belong to men of every description of church doctrine were seen underneath them other human creatures scarcely and over all this blackness and chaos the figure of the christ was poised one hand was extended and to this a woman clung a woman with a beautiful face made piteous in its beauty by long grief and patient endurance in her other arm she held a sleeping child and mother and child were linked together by a of flowers partially broken and faded her attitude the sleeping child s helplessness her worn face the roses of earth s hope and joy all expressed their meaning simply yet and as the divine hand supported and drew her up out of the universal chaos below the hope of a new world a better world a wiser world a world seemed to be conveyed but the eyes of the christ were full of reproach and were bent on the representative of st peter binding the laurel crowned youth and dragging him into darkness and the words written across the golden mount of the picture in clear black letters seemed to be actually spoken aloud from the vivid color and movement of the painting many in that day will call upon me and say lord lord have we not in thy name and in thy name cast ou devils and done many wonderful works f the master christian then will i say to them i never knew you i from me all ye that work as an the picture was a daring yet sublime reproach to the of the religious world as a picture it was in every detail and would have been freely admitted as a of had been fortunate enough to paint it still kept silence s heart beat so loudly that she could almost hear it in the deep silence of the room every fine little nerve in her body was strained to the utmost height of suspense she was afraid to look at her lover or disturb the of his mental judgment by the movement and he thoughts black as the chaos of cloud she had so powerfully were stirring in his soul thoughts base and mean and cowardly which gradually gathering force as he dwelt upon them began to grow and spring up to a devilish height worked into life and being by a burning spark of jealousy which long in his nature now leaped into a flame no trace of the wicked inner workings of his mind however darkened the of his features or clouded the serene soft of his eyes as he at last turned towards the loving shrinking woman who stood waiting for his approval as simply and sweetly as a rose might wait for the touch of the morning sun slowly and like little of ice his first words fell from his lips did you do it all yourself the spell was disturbed the charm broken turned very white she drew a deep breath and the on her nerves relaxed her heart gave one indignant bound and then resumed its usual quiet beating as with a strong effort she gathered all her dignity and force together and replied simply can you ask he looked at her what an embodied insult to the of man she was she a mere woman and the painter of the finest picture ever seen since and michael left the world to work elsewhere as ice pure as snow thou shalt not escape in his imagination he saw the world crowning her with he heard the of the and the condemnation of the the master christian churches thunder against the grand lesson of her work while crowds gathered before the most perfect christ ever painted and he saw her name written up in letters of gold on the of those whom history numbers as immortal it should not be it should never be and again he spoke his words with difficulty for his lips were dry it is very fine quite marvellous in fact almost that is why i ask did you do it all yourself you must not be i mean so well you see the conception the	33
breadth of treatment the and tone of colour are all absolutely masculine who first suggested the idea to you still very pale breathing quickly yet lightly and maintaining an air of calm which was almost matter of fact she answered no one though perhaps if it is traced to its source it arose in my mind from seeing the universal dissatisfaction which most intelligent people feel with religion as administered to them by the churches that and a constant close study of the new testament set the thought in my brain s thought which gradually expressed itself in this form so far as any work belongs to the it is entirely my own creation i am sorry you should have implied any doubt of it here her voice trembled a little but she quickly it he smiled a little difficult smile and slipping his right hand between his coat and felt for he always carried there it should never be i my dear he said with a gracious tranquillity that was almost dignity i do not doubt you in the least i merely suggest what all the world will say there is not an art critic alive who will accept this this extraordinary production as the work of a woman it is the kind of thing which might have been produced hundreds of years ago by a great master setting his pupils to work at different sections of the canvas but that one woman painting all alone for three years should have designed and executed such a yes i will admit it iy a is an unheard of and altogether an extraordinary thing and you must not wonder if competent judges reject the statement with incredulity the master christian it does not matter to me said what they reject or accept you admit it is a that is enough for me it is my own work and you know it is dear little one he said laughing how do i know you have never admitted me into uie once while you were at work the exclamation broke from her lips like a cry of physical pain that was a mistake of yours he went on his eyes beginning to glitter with the fever raging in his mind you should not have shut the doors against your lover my beloved nor would you admit your father either that looks very strange white as a yet with blazing eyes turned upon him she said do you you of all people in the world you to whom i have given all my love and confidence mean to suggest that my work is not my own he looked at her smiling easily sweet not i i know your genius i worship it see and with a light g ce he dropped on one knee and her hand kissed it then springing up again he said you are a great creature my the greatest artist in the world if we can only make the world believe it something in his voice his manner moved her to a vague touch of dread earnestly she looked at him and with a passionate reproach in her pure true eyes and still he smiled while the of envy and malice made in his soul my glorious he said my bride my beautiful one i a veritable queen to whom nations shall pay homage he threw one arm round her waist and drew her somewhat roughly to him you must not be vexed with me sweetheart the world is a cruel world and always doubts great ability in woman i only prepare yon for what most people will say but do not doubt i know your power and triumph in it he paused a moment breathing quickly his eyes were fixed on the picture then he said li n a the master christian there is a shadow there at the hand side of the do you not see she disengaged herself from his clasp where she asked in a voice from which all spirit and had fled you are sad my have i discouraged you forgive me i do not find fault this is a mere nothing you may not agree with me but does not that dark cloud make somewhat too deep a line near the faded roses it may be only an of this light but i do think that line is heavy and might be improved be patient with me i only to make perfection still more perfect she moved closer to the picture turning away from him as she did so just the slightest softening of the tone the finishing touch i he murmured in caressing accents while to himself he it shall not be it shall never be then with a swift movement his hand snatched at the thing he always carried concealed near his breast a flash of pointed steel glittered in the light and with one stealthy spring and pitiless blow he her full and furiously in the back as she stood looking at the fault he had pretended to discover in her picture one choking cry escaped her lips you you then she threw up her arms and fell face forwards on the floor insensible he stood above her dagger in hand and studied the weapon with strange curiosity it was crimson and wet with blood then he stared at the picture a faint horror began to creep over him the great christ in the centre of the painting seemed to live and move and float towards him on clouds of blinding glory his breath came and went in uneasy i he muttered thickly i she lay prone and horribly still he was afraid to touch her what had he done murdered her oh no	33
of vengeance said that is a strange contradiction i but i will suffer whatever he pleases to inflict upon me you shall suffer nothing the cardinal smiled gravely my child i am old and whatever trouble is in store for me cannot last long but i must guard you from harm with all the remaining powers of my life having constituted myself your protector and i must continue to protect and defend and so tomorrow or the next day i shall take you away to england so far at least i will defy the powers of rome his eyes flashed and his whole person seemed to be invested with sudden strength dignity and command he pointed to the on the table before him he the holy one of the heavens was for speaking the truth i can do no better than follow his divine example if my soul is stretched on the of injustice if every tender emotion of my heart is tortured and slain if i am stripped of honour and exposed to contempt what matter my glorious master suffered likewise was silent he stood near the great chimney where the wood fire burned and casting a ruddy glow through the room after a few minutes he turned his fair head towards the cardinal with an earnest gaze in his expressive eyes the master christian then dear friend you arc not angry you do not reproach me for what i have done reproach you i reproach no one said least of all a child i for you speak unconsciously as genius speaks you cannot weigh the meaning of your words or the effect of what you say on the worldly or minds which have learned to balance motives and before them into more or less language no i have nothing to reproach you with i am thankful to have you by my side his eyes rested again upon the for a moment and he went on more to himself than to the boy in the early days of our lord he spoke to the wise men in the temple and they were astonished at his understanding and answers but they did not him not then on the contrary they listened how often in our own days do young children ask us questions to which we cannot reply and which they themselves perchance could easily answer if but knew how to clothe their thoughts with speech f for the spirit of god is made manifest in many ways and through many methods sometimes it whispers a hint or a warning to us in the of the rose sometimes in the radiance of the sunset on the sea sometimes in the simple talk of a child younger even than you are except ye become as little children he paused in his dreamy utterance and turned in his chair listening what is that there was a noise of hurrying footsteps and murmuring voices that sort of half confusion in a household which something wrong and all at once prince threw open the door of the cardinal s apartments without ceremony crying out as he entered where is the cardinal rose out of his chair startled and alarmed he echoed she is not here not here prince drew a sharp and his face visibly it is very strange her is locked at both yet the servants swear she has not passed out of the house besides she never goes out without leaving word as to where she has gone and when she is the master christian her is locked on both sides repeated the cardinal but that is quite easy to understand her picture is and no one is to be permitted to see it until to morrow yes yes said the prince impatiently i know all that but where is herself there is no sign of her anywhere she cannot have gone out her maid tells me she was not dressed to go out she was in her white working gown when last seen and old gave a wild gesture of despair if any harm has happened to the child harm why what harm could happen what harm could happen said the cardinal soothingly my dear brother do not alarm yourself let us go to the interposed suddenly she may not have heard you call her he moved in his gentle light way out of the room and without another word they allowed outside the door they paused and prince tried again and again to open it calling i now loudly now softly now now all to no purpose the servants had gathered on the landing afraid of they knew not what and one old man the prince s shook his head at the continued silence why not break open the door he asked anxiously i know the trick of those old locks if the will permit i can push back the catch with a strong do so then replied his master i cannot wait there is something horrible in the atmosphere something that me quick this suspense will kill me the old hurried away and in two or three minutes during which time both prince and the cardinal knocked and called again outside the door quite he returned with a strong iron which he forced against the lock for some time it resisted all then with appalling suddenness gave way and flew back the door bursting wide open with the shock for one instant the falling shadows of evening made the interior of the room too dim to see distinctly a the master christian a confused of objects the carved summit of a great a gold picture frame shining round a wonderful mass of colouring on canvas then gradually they discerned the outline of a small figure	33
lying prone at the foot of the stiff and motionless with a dreadful cry of despair dashed into the room falling on his knees he raised the delicate figure in his arms the little head drooped on his shoulder and with the movement a of golden hair became and fell in soft waves over his trembling hands the fair face was calm and tranquil the eyes were closed but as the distracted man clasped that beloved form closer he saw what caused him to spring erect with a terrible oath and cry for vengeance murdered i he exclaimed hoarsely murdered brother come close see here will you talk to me of god now my last comfort in life the last gift of my murdered the cardinal forward and looking saw that a deep stain of blood over the soft white garments of the lifeless girl and he his hands in despair my god my god he moaned in what have we offended thee that thou visit us with such heavy affliction my child my little g the servants had by this time clustered round a pale and terrified group sobbing and crying loudly only the old retained sufficient presence of mind to light two or three of the lamps in the as this was done and the sudden dispersed some of the darker shadows in the room the grand picture on the was thrown into full and the magnificent christ descending in clouds of glory seemed to start from the painted canvas and move towards them all and even while he wrung his hands and wept the cardinal s glance was suddenly caught and by this splendour he staggered back amazed and murmured feebly this is her work this her great picture and she she is dead suddenly t and drew the master christian him close to the couch where he had just laid the body of his daughter down now where was this god you serve think you when this happened he demanded in a hoarse whisper while his aged eyes glittered and his stem dark face under the tossed white hair was as a frowning mask of vengeance is the world so rich in sweet women that she should be slain half with grief the unhappy cardinal sank on his knees beside the murdered girl taking the passive hand he kissed it the tears flowing down his cheeks her magnificent picture shone forth a living presence in the room but the thoughts of all were for the dead only and the distracted saw nothing but his child s pale set face closed eyes and delicate figure lying still with the red stain of blood spreading through the whiteness of her garments none of them thought of and it was with a shock of surprise that the cardinal became aware of him and saw him approaching the couch raising his hand as he came hush hush he said very gently it may be that she is not dead i she will be frightened when she wakes if she sees you weeping prince caught the words when she wakes he cried poor boy you do not know what you she will never wake she is dead but was bending closely over the couch and looking earnestly into s quiet face cardinal watched him and the old prince stood arrested as it were in the very midst of his wrath and sorrow by some force more potent than even the spirit of vengeance the sobbing servants held their breath and all stared as if fascinated at the young boy as after a pause he took s hand that hung so down in one of his own and with the other felt her heart then he spoke she is not dead he said simply she has only let fetch a physician to attend her sec she breathes with a wild half smothered cry prince sprang forward to see for himself if this blessed t the master christian he and the cardinal both seized with a passionate anxiety gazed and gazed at the fair beloved face in hope in fear and longing and still stood beside the couch the small hand he held with thoughtful care and tenderness all at once a faint sigh parted the sweet lips the bosom heaved with a struggle for breath her father fell on his knees overcome and hiding his face in his hands sobbed aloud in the intensity of his relief and joy while the cardinal murmured a devout thank god a few minutes passed and still the fluttering uncertain came and went and still stood by the couch quietly watchful presently the closed eyelids quivered and lifted and the beautiful true eyes shone star like out upon the world again she stirred and tried to raise herself but sank back exhausted in the effort then seeing the cardinal she smiled and her gaze wandered slowly to the bent white haired figure crouching beside her whose whole frame was shaken by sobs father she dearest father what is it he lifted his tear stained face and seeing that the tender eyes regarding him were full of fear and wonder as well as love he instantly controlled himself and rising from his knees kissed her gently i thought you were dead my darling he said softly hush now do not speak lie quite still you are hurt a little you must rest you will be better much better presently but s looks had again wandered and now they were fixed on over her whole face there came a sudden life and radiance i she said eagerly stay with me do not leave me smiled in answer to her appealing eyes and came nearer do not fear he i will stay she closed her eyes again and her breathing	33
grew lighter and easier just then one of the servants entered with the physician who was accustomed to attend the household his arrival roused completely she became quite conscious and evidently began to ol ax a d happened the master christian the doctor raised her to see where she was injured and quickly cutting away her blood stained tenderly and carefully examined the wound i cannot understand how it is that she is not dead i he said at last it is a miracle i this is a inflicted with some sharply pointed instrument probably a dagger and was no doubt intended to be mortal as it is it is dangerous but there is a chance of life then he addressed to who was looking at him with wide open eyes and a most piteous expression do you know me my child oh yes doctor she murmured faintly do you suffer much pain no then can you tell me how this happened who you she shuddered and sighed no one i that i can remember her eyes closed she moved her hands about as though seeking for something she had lost i i am here answered the boy gently stay with me i am so tired again a trembling shook her fragile body from head to foot and again she sighed as though her heart were breaking then she lay still though one or two tears crept down her cheeks as they carried her tenderly up to her own room and laid her down on her simple little white bed softly and guarded by a statue of the virgin bending over it there when her cruel wound was dressed and and the physician had given her a draught she fell into a deep refreshing slumber and only stayed beside her as she slept meanwhile down in the prince and the cardinal stayed together talking softly and gazing in fascinated wonder bewilderment admiration and awe at s work all the lamps in the room were now lit and the great picture a sublime dream resolved into sublime reality shone out as much as the artificial light would permit a jewel of art that seemed to contain within itself all the colour and radiance of a unseen yet surely near at ba tor the master christian figure and face of the approaching instinct with life expressed almost in positive speech the words then shall ye see the son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory i and if cardinal had given way to the emotions of his soul he could have knelt before the exalted purity of such a conception of the christ z god like ideal brought into by the exalted imagination the holy thoughts and the faithful patient work of a mere woman this he said in hushed accents this must be the cause of the attempt made to murder the child some one who knew her secret some one who was aware of the wonderful power and magnificence of her work perhaps the very man who made the frame for it who can tell prince meditated deeply a frown his brows his countenance was still pale and drawn with the stress of the mingled agony and relief he had just passed through and the anxiety he felt concerning s immediate critical condition i cannot hold the position yet i he said at last that is to say i am too and stricken with fear to realize what has happened see that picture is marvellous z wonder of the world i it will crown my girl with all the of a lasting fame but what matter is it to me this shouting of the public if she dies will it console me for her loss to call her a nay but we must not give up hope said the cardinal soothingly please god you will not lose her i be glad that she is not dead and remember that it is almost by a miracle that she lives that is true that is murmured old his white hair with one hand while he still stared at his daughter s picture you are very patient with me brother you have all the kindness as well as all the of your sister the sweetest woman the sun was ever privileged to shine on well well what did you say to me that this picture must have been the cause of the attempted murder maybe but the poor hard working fellow who made the frame for it could not have done such a deed he has been a of lot v a j ad she has the master christian g him employment when he could not it from others besides he never saw the picture gave him her and when the frame was finished he brought it to her here but he had nothing whatever to do with setting the canvas in it that i know for herself told me no no let us not blame the innocent rather let us try to find the guilty at that moment a servant entered with a large and exquisitely arranged basket of lilies of the valley and a letter for he said as he handed both to his master the prince took the basket of lilies and moved by a sudden fancy set it gently in front of s great work glancing at the of the letter he said from i had better open it and see what he says he broke the seal and read the following sweetest i am summoned to on business and therefore to my infinite regret shall not be able to see the great picture to morrow you know you can feel how sorry i am	33
the ruler of all and to resign himself with that christian philosophy which when truly practised is so much more powerful than all the splendid of the heroic to those glorious god influences which we feel and for blindly like children in the dark knowing that love is near meanwhile prince moved by conflicting sentiments and which he was unable to explain to himself and only strongly conscious of the desire to be on his daughter s cowardly whoever it might be muffled himself in a well worn cloak his favourite out door garment pulled his hat down over his eyes and so looking like a fierce old of the mountains went out not quite knowing why he went but partly impelled by a sense of curiosity he wanted to hear something to find something and yet he could not agree with himself as to the nature of the circumstance he sought to discover there was a lurking suspicion in his mind to which he would not give a name i dark thought that made him tremble with mingled rage and horror but he put it away from him as a hint offered by the evil one an suggestion as hideous as it was unnatural the afternoon had now closed into night and many stars were glistening bravely in the purple depths of the clear sky the air was mild and and as he crossed the road to turn down the little side street leading to the where had stood but a few hours previously a flower girl met him with a large basket of white and held them up to his eyes la she said with a smile he shook his head and turned abruptly away as he did so his foot struck against some slight obstacle stooping to examine l ve c x s the empty the master christian of a dagger he picked it up and studied it intently it was adorned with old work and was evidently the ornamental covering of one of those small but deadly weapons which both men and women so often wear concealed about their persons for the purpose of taking vengeance when deemed necessary on an enemy slipping the thing into his pocket the prince looked about him and soon recognised his bearings he was standing about six yards away from the private back entrance to his daughter s he walked up to the door and tried it it was fast locked yes remember the servants told me both doors were locked and from this they said the key was gone he muttered then paused presently by a sudden impulse he turned and walked swiftly with long impatient strides through the more quarters of rome towards the and he had not proceeded very far in this direction before he heard a and shouting which though he knew it did not yet bear the truth in its harsh refrain yet staggered him and made his heart almost stand still with an agony of fear di di di i prince held his breath in sharp pain listening how horrible was the persistent cry of the i hoarse and shrill now near now far di how horrible how horrible he put his hands to his ears to try and shut out the din he had not expected any public not so soon but ill news travels fast and no doubt the very servants of his own household were responsible for having in the extremity of their terror given away the report of s death the terrible shouts were like so many cruel blows on his brain yet half with the shock of them he still went on his way straight on to the house and of there he rang the bell loudly and impatiently a servant opened the door in haste and stared at the tall old man with the n v t d the master christian ing eyes who was wrapped in a dark cloak the very folds of which seemed to tremble with the suppressed rage of the form it enveloped he stammered feebly falling back a little from the threshold where is your master demanded he has gone to when did he leave but two hours ago prince held up the dagger he had just found this belongs to liim does it not he asked slowly his words with careful the man answered readily and at once yes uttered a terrible oath let me pass the servant made a gesture of protest but my master is not here i prince paying no heed to him strode into the house and threw open the door of a room which he knew to be s own specially private retreat a woman with a mass of bright orange gold hair half dressed in a blue trimmed with cheap lace was lazily on a sofa smoking a she sprang up surprised and indignant but shrank back visibly as she recognised the intruder and met the steady glare of the old man s eyes where is your lover he asked you you insult me and came a step nearer to her his wrath seeming to literally him like a play me no tricks this is not the time for lying i repeat my question where is he you the companion of his thoughts you his model you his mistress you must know all his movements tell me then where he is or by heaven if you do not i will have you arrested for in murder she fell back from him trembling her full red mouth half open and her face with terror murder she whispered yes murder x l w her the master christian wide opened eyes the dagger he held what i have you not heard not yet not	33
though the whole city rings with the news what news that is dead i that she my daughter the sweetest most innocent and loving of women as well as the greatest and most gifted has been in her own this day by some cowardly unknown i unknown i say not known i this belongs to where is he tell me at once if only to save yourself trouble overcome by fear and to do her justice horror as well the miserable threw herself on her knees i swear he has gone to i she cried on my word as i live i swear it he has gone i he seemed as usual he was not in any haste he left no message he said he would be back in two or three days he sent flowers to la he wrote to her o i swear to you i know nothing the prince eyed her with grim attention they are shouting it in the streets he said listen he held up one hand she on the floor she could hear nothing and she stared at him in fascinated terror they are telling all rome of the death of my child first rome and then the world i the world shall hear of it for there is only one and earth and heaven cry out for in her name tell this to the devil who has bought you for his pleasure i leave the message with you tell him that when the world for vengeance upon her murderer know where to find him with that he put the dagger back in his with jealous care and left her where she crouched shivering and moaning walking as in a dream he brushed past the astonished and frightened servant and went out of the house into the street once more there he paused the stars appeared to rock in the sky and the houses seemed moving slowly round him in a sort of circular procession the shouting of the which had ceased for a while began again with even louder di la i e the master christian the old man s heart beat in strong hammer strokes he listened vaguely his tall figure shaking a little with the storm pent up within him till all at once as if the full of the position had only just burst upon him he uttered a sharp cry her lover i her promised husband one whom she trusted and loved more than her own father i the hope of her life the man whose praise was sweeter to her than the of the whole world he even he her murderer for even if she lives in body he has murdered her soul he looked up at the deep heavens his dark face growing livid in the intensity of his and pain may god curse him he whispered thickly may all evil track his footsteps and the terrors of a cursed conscience hound him to his death may he never know peace by day or night may the devils in his own soul destroy him god curse him he clenched his fist and raised it and gathering his cloak about him tried to walk on but there was a black mist before his eyes he could not see he stumbled forward blindly and would have fallen had not a strong arm caught him and held him upright he turned a dazed and wondering look on the man whose friendly grasp supported him then with an exclamation made a trembling attempt to raise his hat il i he murmured ri king for it was he held him still more closely courage he said kindly courage yes yes i know i have heard the news i ah italy will give you vengeance for your child we will spare no pains to discover her murderer but now you are ill you are weary do not try to come with me i let me take you home come a great sob broke from the old man s breast as he yielded to his sovereign s imperative yet gentle guidance and before he could realize the situation he was in the king s own carriage with the king beside him being rapidly driven back to his own house arrived at the a strange sight greeted them the eat was wide open and pressing through st and surrounding l v i i point the master christian was a vast crowd packed and almost absolutely silent quite up to the inner these waiting thousands pressed though as they recognised the royal they did their best to make immediate way and a low murmur arose il ri but there was no loud shouting and the continued hush was more distinctly than the murmur prince gazed at the great throng as the carriage moved slowly through and putting his hand to his head murmured what what is this i do not understand why are these people here the king pressed his hand all the world honours and loves your daughter my friend he said and rome the mother of nations the loss of her youngest child of genius no not loss she is not dead began i should have told your majesty she is wounded but not dead at that moment the carriage stopped the door of the palace was open and in the centre of a group of people that had gathered within among whom were and the d stood cardinal and was a little in advance of the rest and as the king and prince alighted he came fully forward his eyes shining and a smile upon his lips she will recover he said she is sleeping peacefully and all is	33
well i his voice rang clear and sweet and was heard by on the outskirts of the crowd the good news ran from mouth to mouth till all the people caught it up and responded with one brief subdued but hearty cheer then without bidding they began to and the king his head in the presence of cardinal gave up his self imposed charge of old who faint and feeble grasped s quickly proffered arm and leaned heavily upon it he needs care said gently the shock has moved him greatly your majesty is ever considerate of the sorrows of others said the venerable with emotion and god will bless you as he all good the master christian the king bowed reverently to the he looked up with a slight smile it is not wise of your eminence to say so in rome he observed but i thank you and am grateful his keen eyes rested for a moment on and the fair aspect of the boy seemed to move him to a sense of wonder but he did not speak with a light salute to all present he re entered his carriage and was away and led prince into his own library where when he was seated they all waited upon him eagerly the fair his cold hands and the d practically making him drink a glass of good wine gradually warmth and colour and animation came back to his pale features his fears were soothed his heart relieved and a smile crossed his lips as he met s earnest anxious eyes what a pretty it is he said softly full of sunshine and love with returning strength he gathered up the forces of his native pride and independence and rose from his chair i am well quite well again now he said where is the boy gone back to replied the cardinal he said he would watch her until she wakes an angel watching an angel then said the prince that is as it should be he paused a moment the king was very kind and you and you and he courteously bent over s little hand and kissed it you are all much too good to an old man like me i am strong again shall be ready to speak when bids but i must wait i must wait he ruffled his white hair with one hand and looked at them all very strangely that was a great crowd outside all waiting to hear news of my girl if if they knew who it was that her do you know cried quickly per and i thought englishmen were and here is one and ready to burst like a l lo i i did not say i knew i but i say if the di y xv i k have the master christian him yes they would have torn him to pieces and he would have deserved it he will deserve it if he is ever found come we will all sup here together this evening sorrow the bonds of friendship and i will tell you he paused and again the strange far off look came into his eyes i will tell you he went on slowly how i found my lying dead as i dead at the feet of christ i meanwhile had not gone to he had been turned back by a from his own conscience coward fear he was on his way to the station when he suddenly discovered that he had lost the of his dagger a cold perspiration broke out on his forehead as this fact flashed upon him what had he done with it surely he had drawn the weapon out and left the in his breast pocket as usual but no search as he would he could not find it it must have dropped on the floor of s i if that were so he would be traced i most surely traced as the was of curious and uncommon and many of his friends had seen it he had told everybody he was going to and of course he would be followed there then he would not go but he went to the station as if bent on the journey and took a ticket for then setting down his on a bench he tore off the on which his name was written and tearing it up in small bits scattered the fragments an the line after this he walked away leisurely leaving the behind him for there was nothing in it by which he could be traced and sauntered slowly out of the station into the streets of rome once more the first he saw he told the driver to take him to the man was either lazy or sulky why not take the train because i wish to drive replied what is your fare twenty five for half the way i said the man showing his white teeth in a mischievous mn good the driver was surprised as he had not thought his terms would be accepted but he made no further and jumped into the vehicle his teeth chattering with an inward terror he could not control the master christian drive quickly i he said the man shouted an affirmative and they away through the streets shrinking back in the carriage overcome by panic what a fool he had been what a fool i he ought to have told if the dagger were found and taken to his residence it would be recognised instantly and all rome would rise against s murderer murderer yes that was what he had chosen to make of himself i it was all an impulse he muttered just a hot impulse nothing just a sudden hatred of her which made me her i it was enough	33
to make any man angry to see such a picture as that painted by a woman i her fame would have ruined mine but i never meant to kill her no i never meant to kill her shuddering and he huddled himself in a comer of the carriage and did not dare to look out of the window to see which way he was being driven he only rallied a little when the wheels moved more quietly and and he knew that he was on the open road and out of suddenly after along a considerable time the vehicle stopped and the driver shouted to him dashed down the window and put his head out almost beside himself with rage what are you stopping for what are you stopping for he go on go on we are not half way to yet i go on i tell you ma i only stopped to ask a question what question what is this a time for asking questions cried the night is falling want to get on but we are going on as fast as we can the driver it is only this there is an on the way where we can get food and wine would the like to stop there it is as far as i can go for i am wanted to night in rome very well stop where you like only get on now i said pulling his head in with a jerk and sinking back in his seat again he wiped his hot face and cursed his miserable destiny it would have been all right if he had only remembered that no one v i the master christian got on such a track of suspicion as that he the lover and husband of was her brutal i wrote a loving letter and sent her flowers he argued with himself when i knew she would be dead but her father would have got them and he would have to me in and i should have come back overcome with sorrow and then i should have told them all how the picture was a secret between my and myself how had painted the greater part of it and how she in her sweetness had wished me to surprise the world the plan was perfect but it is all spoiled spoiled utterly through that stupid blunder of the such a trifle it seemed to him incredible unjust that so slight a thing could between him and the complete success of his meditated treachery for notwithstanding the fact that he had been a great reader and student of books he now in this particular hour of his own emergency completely forgot what all the most and learned writers have always to an world namely the fact that crime holds within itself the seed of punishment sometimes that seed quickly sometimes it takes years to grow but it is always there and it generally takes root in a mere slight circumstance so very commonplace and casual as to entirely escape the notice of the criminal till the of destiny is woven so closely about him that he can no longer avoid it and then he is shown from what a trifling cause the whole result has sprung s present state of mind was one of absolute torture for he felt that whoever found the of his dagger would at once recognise it and declare the owner if had only been wounded if she had found it she would never have given up the name of its possessor the miserable man knew her straight pure soul intimately enough for that if she heard she would shield me and defend me at the cost of her own life he said she was always like that she would never listen to anything that was said against me and if she lived she would love me still and never say that i had tried to kill her and he actually smiled at the thought how strangely some women are constituted especially women like who set up an exalted standard o i c c daily the master christian conduct to it i they are sublime fools and so useful to men we can do anything we like with them we can ruin them and they bear their shame in silence we can laugh away their over a game at and they are too pure and proud to even attempt to defend themselves we can whatever work they do and they endure the we can murder them he paused yes we can murder them and they die without so much as leaving a curse behind them extraordinary i superb and a wise fate has ordained that we men shall never sacrifice ourselves for such women or go mad for the love of them we love the better than the saint we are afraid of the woman who at us and gives us trouble who screams vengeance upon us if we neglect her in a trifle who for our money and on our gifts and who keeps our lives in a perpetual fever of excitement and terror but the innocent woman we hate very naturally her looks are a reproach to us and we like to kill her when we can and we often succeed morally but that is not called murder the other way of killing is judged as a crime and then the punishment is death as this word passed his lips in a whisper he trembled violently death it had a chill sound yet he had not thought so when he associated it with for of course was dead was she not surely she must be he had driven the dagger straight home she could	33
not possibly live he muttered not after such a well directed blow and that amazing picture if i could but claim it as my work i should be the greatest artist in the world it would be quite easy to make out a proof only that cursed dagger is in the way he was startled out of his reverie by another of the carriage and this time the driver down from his box and came to the door this is as far as i can take you he said looking curiously at his passenger it is quite half way to there is the inn i told you of where those lights are and he pointed towards the left the carriage road does not go up to it it is a g eat place lor artists the master christian i am not an artist said no but artists are merry company suggested the driver wishing to make up for his previous by an excess of and for a night the is a pleasant resting place on the way to for even the who sup there i ah i there are are there said getting out of the and beginning to recover of his usual composure and i you are one of them if the truth were known here is your money and he gave the man two gold pieces one of twenty the other of ten i have no change i want none said you asked twenty five there are thirty and now as you say you have business in rome be off with you the man needed no second bidding delighted with his thirty he called a gay and turning his horse s head down the road at a tolerably smart pace the horse knew as well as the driver that the way now lay homeward and lost no time left to himself paused a moment and looked about him the i how he hated it i should he pass the night at that or walk on he hesitated a little then made for inn direct it was a bright little place enough and the a cheery woman seated behind the counter bade him smiling welcome oh yes she said there was a charming room at the s disposal with a view from the windows which in the early morning was superb the was an artist no said almost fiercely i am a travelling for pleasure i ah i then the view would the because it would be quite new to him the room should be prepared at once would the take supper yes the would take supper and the went and sat in a remote comer of the common room with a newspaper of a week old pretending to read its contents and n s served to him a meal enough v v e p xv v t r the master christian he was drinking his third glass of it a man entered tall and broad shouldered wrapped in a heavy cloak which he only partially loosened as he leaned against the counter and asked for a cup of coffee but as he caught sight of the dark face shrank back into his comer and put up his newspaper to shield himself from view for he saw that the new comer was no other than his appearance seemed to create a certain amount of excitement and vague alarm in the little inn the evidently knew him well and hastened to serve him herself with the coffee he asked for will you not sit down she murmured no i am in haste i replied glancing carelessly about him my carriage waits outside there is strange news in rome to night the famous artist has been found in her murdered i the uttered a little cry murdered i so it seems i here are the papers from which they cry the news i will leave them with you it is perhaps the judgment of heaven on the s uncle cardinal the mistress of the inn crossed herself devoutly would heaven punish a cardinal certainly if a cardinal is a i the stout clasped her hands and shuddered not possible quite possible and drained his and when so great a personage of the church is a he two the punishment of god and the punishment of the church the one comes first the other comes afterwards and throwing down the money for his refreshment cast another glance around him muffled himself up in his coat and went out into the night breathed again but he was not left in peace for long the summoned her husband from the kitchen where he performed the offices of cook to read the sheets of news her visitor had left with her look you she said in a low voice the wicked who has thee my poor o m v d the master christian for debt has just passed by and left evil tidings that beautiful girl who painted the famous pictures in rome has been murdered do you not remember seeing her once with her father at a round faced timid looking little nodded emphatically that do i he answered fair as an angel too and they told me she was a wonder of the world murdered and who could have murdered her jealous of her fame poor thing she is engaged to be married too to another artist named he will die of this misery and they bent their heads over the paper together and read the brief announcement headed di a sudden crash startled them had up from his table in haste and his glass it fell shivering to on the floor pardon he exclaimed laughing a thousand apologies my hand slipped it was an accident do not trouble yourself said the landlord cautiously going down on	33
his fat knees to pick up the fragments it was an accident as you say and truly one s nerves get shaken nowadays by all the strange things one is always hearing myself i tremble to think of the murder of the the poor girl was so innocent of evil and see you we might all be murdered in our beds with such about he broke off surprised at the angry oath uttered per i can you not talk of something else he said hoarsely there is a murder nearly every day in rome without waiting for a reply he hastily strode out of the inn the door behind him he had his room for the night true but after all this foolish he resolved he would not go back they would still talk of murder if he did murder was in the air murder seemed written in letters of fire against the clear sky now luminous with the moon and stars he was in a fever and a ke walked on and on little where he i w a t the master christian to that particular inn at that particular time of night he could not imagine for though he knew most in rome the scandal of the priest s villa d at was a secret too closely guarded for anyone save the of professional to discover and he was totally ignorant of it he wondered whether the spy had seen him while pretending not to see if that were so then he was lost he could not satisfy himself as to whether he had really escaped observation and tormented by this reflection he walked on and on the burning of his thoughts hastening his footsteps a cold wind began to rise z chill damp breath of the bringing with it he felt heated and giddy and there was a curious sense of fulness in his veins which oppressed him and made him uncertain of his movements presently he stopped and stood gazing vaguely from left to right he was surely not on the road to there was a tall shadowy building not far from him surrounded with trees he tried to it but somehow though as a native of rome and an artist he was familiar most of the he did not recognise this part of it how bright the stars were living points of fire flashing in dense purple i one could never paint them the golden round of the moon spreading wide reflections on the road seemed to his excited mind like a magic ring him drawing him in pointing him out as the one criminal for whom all the world was seeking he had no idea of the time his watch had stopped he began to count up hours he remembered that when he had gone to see it was about four o clock he had known perfectly well that she was alone for he had seen the cardinal drive past him in the streets on the way to the and he had heard at his or club that prince had gone out of rome for a few hours and thus informed he had timed his visit to well then had he meant to kill her no he was quite certain that he never had had any such intention then what had been his purpose first to see her picture and then to condemn it not harshly but gently with the chill and faint of the critic who to judge everything he knew none better the glow the master christian ing and enthusiasm of the genius which was as much a part of as colour is part of a rose his intention had been to all that warmth with a few apparently kind words for he had never thought it possible that she a mere woman could from her own brain and hand such a poetic spiritual and magnificent conception as the coming of christ and when he saw what she had done he bitterly envied her her power he realized the weakness of his own efforts as compared with her victorious achievement and he hated her accordingly as all men hate the woman who is superior to themselves after all there was no way out of it but the way he had chosen to kill her and make an end i to kill her and make an end he muttered these words over and over to himself as he stood watching the broad patterns of the moonlight and thinking about the time yes it was four o clock when he went to s it must have been five or past that hour when he left it when he down the side street which led to the river and threw the key and his dagger together into the muddy tide after that he had gone home and had his while that individual packed his for and then and then yes then he had written to one of the pretty g little notes she was accustomed to receive from him how strange it was to write to a dead girl i and he had gone out to the nearest s shop and chosen a basket of lilies to send to her lilies were for dead maidens always and he had sent the flowers and his love letter together then surely it must have been about half past six he tried to fix the hour but could not and again his thoughts went rambling on after sending the lilies he had returned to his own house and had prepared a for him and he had of it and had smoked a couple of with her and then had said a leisurely good bye and had started for the railway station en route for what train had he intended to go	33
by the eight o clock express he remembered that but on the way he had discovered that loss of the dagger an that had turned him back and brought him to where he now stood meditating how long did the driver of that the master christian to that particular inn at that particular time of night he could not imagine for though he knew most in rome the scandal of the priest s villa d at was a secret too closely guarded for anyone save the of professional to discover and he was totally ignorant of it he wondered whether the spy had seen him while pretending not to see if that were so then he was lost i he could not satisfy himself as to whether he had really escaped observation and tormented by this reflection he walked on and on the burning of his thoughts hastening his footsteps a cold wind began to rise a chill damp breath of the bringing with it he felt heated and giddy and there was a curious sense of fulness in his veins which oppressed him and made him uncertain of his movements presently he stopped and stood gazing vaguely from left to right he was surely not on the road to there was a tall shadowy building not far from him surrounded with trees he tried to it but somehow though as a native of rome and an artist he was familiar with most of the he did not recognise this part of it how bright the stars were i living points of fire flashing in dense purple one could never paint them i the golden round of the moon spreading wide reflections on the road seemed to his excited mind like a magic ring him drawing him in pointing him out as the one criminal for whom all the world was seeking he had no idea of the time his watch had stopped he began to count up hours he remembered that when he had gone to see it was about four o clock he had known perfectly well that she was alone for he had seen the cardinal drive past him in the streets on the way to the and he had heard at his or club that prince had gone out of rome for a few hours and thus informed he had timed his visit to well then had he meant to kill her no he was quite certain that he never had had any such intention then what had been his purpose first to see her picture and then to condemn it not harshly but gently with the chill and faint of the critic who to judge everything he knew none ow the master christian aroused and in the excess of a miserable self pity he longed to excuse himself for his crime of treachery and cruelty to the innocent woman who loved him to throw the blame on else if he could only find that else anything rather than own himself to be the mean wretch and traitor that he was for he was a and clever man a scholar an artist s poet these were not consistent with murder a man who painted beautiful pictures b man who wrote exquisite verses he could never be suspected of a helpless trusting woman in the back out of sheer jealousy like a common hired no no i he could never be suspected i why had he not thought of his intellectual g his position in the world of art before no one in their senses could possibly accuse him in the way he had imagined and even if the dagger were found some explanation might be given else might be found guilty et per again that horrible bell moved by a sudden desperate determination to find out what this mysterious was and where it came from he himself up and walked resolutely and quickly on to a great cross barred and surmounted with tall and there seized by fresh panic he clung to the grating for support and stared through it his teeth chattering and his whole frame shaking as with an fit what were those dark terrible figures he saw were they or men gaunt and black and tall they swayed to and fro now bending now rising in the misty splendour of the moonlight they were busy with the ground digging it and casting out full of earth in heaps beside them each ghostly figure stood by itself apart from its companions each one worked at its task alone and only their voices mingled in harsh dismal as with the next stroke of the solemn bell they dies dies et no i shrieked suddenly shaking the hke an c x doing the master christian in there who told you to sing my mass or prepare my grave i am not ready i tell you not ready i have done nothing to deserve death nothing i have not been tried you must wait you must wait till you know all you must wait his voice choked in utterance and thrusting one hand through the grating he made frantic to the figure nearest him it paused in its toil and lifted its head and from the dark folds of a drooping two melancholy deep set eyes glittered out like the eyes of a beast the other paused also but only for a moment the bell over their heads once more and again they dug and and again they in dreary dies et de in die wild with terror shook the gate more furiously than before stop i tell you he cried it is too soon i you are burying me before my time you have no proof against me none i	33
i am young full of life and strength the world loves me wants me and i i will not die no i will not not yet not yet i am not ready stop stop you do not know what you are doing stop you are driving me mad with your horrible singing and he shrieked aloud mad i tell you mad for one moment he saw some of the dark figures beg n to move towards him he clutched at them fought with them tore at their garments he would have killed them all he thought if the moonlight had not come in between him and them and shut him up in a cold silver circle of ice from which he could not escape yet he went on struggling and talking and shrieking sometimes as he fancied with swords and and trying to find his way through strange storms of mingled fire and snow till all at once some strong invisible force down upon him lifted him up and carried him away and he remembered no more away in paris a vast of people were assembled round an open grave in la chaise wherein the plain coffin of the had just been lowered the day was misty and cold and the sun shone through the wreaths of thin that hung over the city occasionally gleaming on the pale fine face of the famous who standing at the edge of the grave spoke his over the dead to this to this he cried oh people of paris we all must come i our our hopes our dreams our grand our loves and joys end here so far as this world is concerned he whom we have just laid in the earth was skilled in many ways of learning gifted with eloquence great in quick with the tongue as with the pen he was a man whom perchance all france would have called famous had it not been for me i am the blot on my father s name i i am the sin for which he has made the last people of paris for years he lived and worked among you outwardly smiling witty of speech and popular with you all but inwardly a misery to himself in his own conscience because he knew his life was not what he professed it to be he knew that he did not believe what he asked you to accept as true he knew that he had guilt upon his soul he knew that all the sins which none of you could guess at god saw for there is a god not the god of the priests but the god of the universe and of man s natural and spiritual instinct he from whom nothing escapes he who where every drop of dew shall fall he whose vision the flight of every small bird in the air and the building of its nest and the manner of its end he is the god whom none can deceive those who dream they can play false with him are mistaken this dead man my father living among you for years was contented for years to s em like you for you all ihe master christian have something which you think you can cover up from the searching eye of fate and many of you pretend to be what you are not while many more wear the aspect of men over the souls of beasts my father who rests here to day at our feet was a priest of the roman church in that capacity he should have been clothed with human yet removed from common yet reckless of his order heedless of his vows he priest as he was turned and betrayed an innocent woman he destroyed her name skilled her honour broke her heart of all classes from kings to do this kind of thing every day and deem it but a small fault of character nevertheless it is a crime and for a crime there is always punishment for everything that is false for everything that is mean for everything that is contemptible and cowardly punishment comes if not soon then late in this case vengeance was for the sinner in time took his vengeance on himself he confessed his sin before you all that was brave how many of you here to day would have such courage how many of you would throw off your of virtue and admit your vices or having admitted them try to them but this is what my father did and for this he should be honoured he told you all fully and frankly that his professions of faith were false and vain and conventional and that he had seemed to you what he was not now the of a sin is one thing but the frankly confession of that sin is another some of you will say who am i that i should judge my father why truly i am nothing and should have been nothing but the of my mother s life and broken hearted misery for that i lived for that i was ready to die what a trivial object of existence it must seem to you nowadays to a mother s name much better to fight a for some paltry yes but i am not so constituted from my childhood i worked for two things vengeance and ambition i put ambition second for i would have sacrificed it all to the passion but when i sought to fulfil my vengeance the man on whom i would have taken it himself changed it into respect pity admiration affection and i loved what i had so long hated so even i bent on cruelty	33
learned to be kind the master christian the church the church of rome cannot forgive tlie dead priest whom we have laid in all mother earth to day had he lived the sentence of would have been pronounced against him now that he is dead it is quite possible it may still be pronounced against his memory but what of that we who know who feel who think we are not led by the church of rome but by the church of christ i the two things are as different as this grave from high heaven i for we believe that when breaks a precious box of perfume at the feet of christ she hath wrought a good work we also believe that when a man stands afar off saying lord be merciful to me a sinner he goes back to his house again justified more than he who says lord i thank thee i am not as other men we believe that right is right and that nothing can make it wrong and simply speaking we know it is right to tell the truth and wrong to tell a lie for a lie is opposed to the working forces of nature and those forces sooner or later will attack it and overcome it they are beginning now in our swiftly advancing day to attack the church of rome and why because its doctrine is no longer that of christ but of this is what my father felt and knew when he addressed his congregation for the last time in dame de he knew that he was doomed by disease to a speedy death though he little guessed how soon that death would be but feeling the of his end he resolved to speak out not to or excuse himself for having preached what he could not believe all those years but merely to tell you how things were with him and to trust his memory to you to be dealt with as you choose he has left a book behind him a book full of and noble thoughts expressed with most pathetic humility hence i doubt not that when you see the better soul of him in his expressed mind you will yet give him the fame he merits his church judges him a and for having confessed his sin at last to the people whom he so long deceived but i for this judge him as an honest man and i have some little right to my opinion for as i have sought to proclaim the thoughts of many he paused till the ol tv m l the master christian of the name by which he was known through france should have ceased it rose on the air in a sort of bee like humming and then died away while many people stood on tip toe and necks eagerly over each other s shoulders to catch a g se of the daring writer whose works threatened to upset a greater power than any throne the roman church i have tried he resumed quietly as i say to proclaim the thoughts of many the people of france like the of many other nations are losing god in a cloud of priest craft look up to this broad of heaven look up to yonder driving clouds heavy with rain through which the g eat sun like a golden shield that is the temple of the real god i that sparkling roof of air through which the roll in their tremendous over the wise and the foolish the just and the unjust the sun shines as kindly on the face of the street outcast as on that of the great lady who is often more soiled in soul than her miserable sister the rich man can provide for himself no finer quality of light than is vouchsafed to the poor the flowers in the field spring up as graciously under the feet of the beggar as the king the church of the true god is equality the altar the the final resting place of the dead your cry was and is still liberty equality and but when you shout those words you know not what you are calling for your demand is instinctive the cry of a child for its parents it is not for things that you as the foolish imagine it is for eternal things liberty of thought equality in work in faith i but your political leaders ever at work for themselves these words for you even as your priests christ s gospel they make out for you that you want liberty of action equality of riches in position these things are by nature s law impossible they are not wanted and reasonable consideration will prove to you that you do not want them otherwise you would be asking for a disordered universe a chaos instead of a world i the strong must always prevail but by strong i do not mean the strong liar or the strong evil not for a lie contains in itself the oi x the master christian which shall kill and the evil is not strong but because cowardly there is no in fear no power in disease hence i repeat again the strong must prevail and by the strong i mean the good evil is always weak it for a day a month a year or if you will a thousand years for a thousand years are but a moment in the sight of heaven but for ever and ever justice is done for ever and ever right comes uppermost and the strong which is god than whom is none stronger and who is all goodness liberty of thought should be the privilege of every human creature but we must never mistake it for liberty of action	33
liberty of action is restrained by law in the world of nature and must be equally restrained in the world of men but insist on equality in work what do i mean by equality in work i mean this that every man s work is entitled to consideration and respect in every phase of life the road works well and makes a smooth way for men and horses he deserves my honour for his skill he has it he shall have it for i know he can teach me many things of which i am ignorant the chief of the state works well puts grave matters in order and necessary government he also shall have my respect he has it he deserves his carriage and pair as fully as the deserves his dinner we should not grudge or envy either man the reward due to their separate positions the has a sweet voice the screams the one is plain in colour the other gorgeous and there is no actual equality yet the one bird does not grudge the other its position inasmuch as though there is no equality there is compensation so it is with men there is always compensation in every lot so it should be so it must be equality in work means simply respect for every kind of work done and contempt for none except for him who does no work at all and lastly the word glorious word meaning so much holding suggestions of peace joy and purity in its mere utterance not a of possession for then should we become lower than the beasts who have their own separate holes their separate mates their separate but of faith the one faith that teaches us to cry k ai l i under the master stand christ as our brother and all of us the of one family one creation moving on in process of to greater things let any priest tell me that i am not a child of god and i will retort that he by such an utterance has proved himself a child of the devil ignorant sinful full of miserable as i am i am of god as the ant is the worm the fly and if i have no more of god in me than such insects still i am thankful to have so much what priest shall dare to say how much or how little of god there was in the composition of this man lying in the grave at our feet who was my father i who can the soul from its creator who can part the from the i the human being who on what he calls church authority shall thrust his brother away from any form of communion which he himself judges and as valuable is one of those whom christ declared to be in danger of hell fire for there is no man who can if he be true to himself condemn his brother man or say to him stand back i am than thou i therefore for him whom we lay down to rest to day let there be pardon and peace i let us remember that for all his sins he by full confession by publicly himself in the sight of that society in whose estimation he had till then seemed something superior by voluntarily himself to the wrath of the church of which he was a professed servant cursed by his creed he may now perchance be blessed by his creator for he died clean and true washed of with no secret vice left for others to up and expose to criticism whatsoever wrong he did he openly admitted whatever false things he said he i believe and lam sure we all believe that his spirit thus is acceptable to god he has left no lies behind him no debts no wrongs to be he told you all people of paris what he was before he left you and looking down into this dark grave we know what he is a senseless form of clay from which the soul that animated it into action has fled let the church this poor corpse of my father let it muster its forces against his memory as it will i swear before you all that shall live yes for i his son u f o x i the master christian i whom he so late acknowledged as his own flesh and i will be a shield of defence for his name till i die if priests would attack him they must attack him through me and i despite a thousand churches a thousand a thousand will firmly maintain that a man who frankly his sins and is openly honest with the world before he leaves it is a better christian than he who for the sake of mere appearances and with death and passes to his maker s presence in a black cloud of lies better to be with christ than live with the high priests and of the modem of our social conditions truth may seem to perish on the cross of injustice it may be buried in a sealed the entrance to which may be closed up by a great stone of bulk and but the moment must come when the angel from heaven when the stone is rolled away and the eternal living god rises again and walks the world in the glory of a new dawn he ended and for a moment there was a deep silence there had been no funeral service for no priest would attend the burial of the so after a brief pause knelt down by the g ave and carried away by the solemnity of the scene as well as by	33
their own excitement more than half the crowd knelt with him as bending his head reverently over his clasped hands he prayed aloud oh god of love whose tenderness and care for thy creation is everywhere disclosed to us from the smallest of dust to the majesty of thy million worlds in the air give we thee to this perished clay which once was man the beauty which vile things to virtuous and our seeming death with life let thy eternal law of so work upon this senseless body that it may pass through earth to heaven and there find finer of being higher forms of development greater opportunities of perfection and for the soul which is thine own breath of fire o god receive it from sin and make it worthy of the final purpose for which thou hast destined it from the beginning and grant unto us left here to still work out our own salvation on this the planet thou hast chosen lot v t to comprehend s the master christian thy laws and faithfully to obey them to forgive as we would be forgiven to love as we would be loved and to lift our thoughts from the appearance of this grave to the reality of thy which hath ordained light out of darkness and out of death life as proved most to us by christ our brother our teacher and our master amen his prayer finished the young man rose and taking a wreath of ivy which he had travelled to himself to bring from the walls of the simple cottage where his mother had lived and worked and died he dropped it on the coffin and signed to the g ave to in the earth then turning to the crowd he said my friends i thank you all for the sympathy which has brought you here to day it is finished the dead man is at rest i and now as you go as you return to your own homes homes happy or unhappy as the case may be i will only ask you to remember that there is no or virtue in falsehood whether it be falsehood religious or falsehood political and he who dies dealing with his fellow men lives again with god and is not as scripture says dead in his sins but born again to a new and more hopeful existence i with the last words he gave the sign of dismissal the people began to slowly and somewhat reluctantly every member of the crowd being curious to obtain a nearer view of the young orator who not only spoke his thoughts but whose pen was as a down a harvest of and and whose frank utterance from the heart was so honest as to be absolutely convincing to the public but he after giving a few further instructions to the men who were beginning to close in his father s grave walked away with one or two friends and was soon lost to sight in one of the many winding paths that led from the out into the road so that many who anxiously sought to study his features more nearly were disappointed one person there was who had listened to his in wonder and open mouthed admiration this was he had taken the opportunity offered him in a cheap excursion from to paris to visit a cousin of his who was a small a shop in the st and by chance he and this s m co the master christian quietly walking together down one of the had got entangled in the press of people who were pouring into la chaise on this occasion and had followed them out of curiosity not at all knowing what they were going to see but the known as soon the situation and explained it all to his provincial relative it is the they are burying he said he was a wonderful preacher all fashionable paris used to go and hear him till he made that pretty scandal of himself a month or so ago he was a popular and a social favourite but one fine morning he preached a sermon to his congregation all against the church and for that matter against himself too for he then and there confessed before everybody that he was no true priest and as he preached what think you young man fired a pistol shot at him for his as supposed and when the would have taken the this same stopped them and refused to punish his own son what do you think of that for a marvel an something still more marvellous followed for that very son who tried to kill him was no other than the man we have just heard speaking though nobody knew it till a week afterwards such a scene you never saw in a church paris was wild with excitement for a dozen hours which is about as long as its last and the two of them father and son went straight away to a famous cardinal then staying in paris and he by the way was in the church when the publicly confessed himself cardinal ah interrupted excitedly this interests me for that most eminent cardinal stayed at my inn in before coming on here i so and cousin looked rather surprised without offence to thee it was a poor place for a cardinal was it not poor truly but sufficient for a man of his mind i replied for look you he is trying to live as christ lived and christ cared naught for luxury laughed by my faith i if priests were to live as christ lived paris might learn to les wit r but wc the master christian know that they will not and that few of them are better than the worst	33
of us but to finish my story this and the son whom he so suddenly and strangely acknowledged went to this cardinal for some reason most probably for pardon though truly i cannot tell you what happened for almost immediately the went out of paris to the d some miles away and his son went with him and there the two stayed together till the old man died and as for cardinal he went at once to rome with his niece the famous painter i imagine he may have with the pope or tried to do so for the but whatever happened there they are now for all i know to the contrary and we heard that the church was about to or had already though i suppose cardinal had nothing to do with that not he said firmly he would never or do any unkind thing to a living soul i am pretty sure of he is the very cardinal who performed the miracle in my house that has caused us no end of trouble and he is under the displeasure of the pope for it now if all i hear be true that is strange said with a laugh to be under the displeasure of the pope for doing a good deed truly it seems so agreed but you must remember there was no paying shrine concerned in it i mark you that my even our lady of bon near to as she is was not applied to the miracle took place in the poor habitation of an unknown little inn keeper that is myself and there was no solemnity at all about it no swinging of incense no of prayers no lighting of candles no an but just a good old man with a crippled child on his knee praying to the christ whom he believed was able to help him and and he broke off suddenly and crossed himself stared at the action what thee he asked hast thou remembered a dead sin or a passing soul neither replied slowly but only just the thought of another child a and stray whom the the master christian good cardinal found in the streets of outside our great cathedral door a gentle lad my wife was greatly taken with him and he was present in my house too when the miracle of healing was performed and for that is there any need to cross like a old woman afraid of the devil his cousin smiled a slow smile gently gently he said thou art of paris i of the provinces that makes all the difference in the way we look at life there are very few holy things in great cities but there are many in the country every day when i am at home i go out of the town to work in my field and i feel the clean breath of the wind the scent of the earth and the colours of the sky and the flowers and i know quite well there is a god or these blessings could not be for if there were only chance and a man to manage the universe a pretty we should have of it and when i see or think of a holy thing i sign the cross out of old childhood s habit so just now when i remembered the boy whom the cardinal rescued from the streets i knew i was thinking of a holy thing and that explains my action how dost thou prove a of the streets a holy thing curiously shrugged his shoulders and gave a wide wave of both hands ah that is more than i can tell you he said it is a matter beyond my skill but the boy was a boy i never saw him myself laughed outright never saw him he cried and yet thou dost make the sign of the cross at the thought of him thou art crazy maybe maybe said mildly they were walking together out of the by this time in the wake of the rapidly crowd but i have always taken my wife s word and i take it now and she has said over and over again to me that the boy had a rare sweet nature and then the child whom the cardinal healed will always insist upon it that it was the touch of that same boy which truly cured him and c at all i the master christian mere fancy said carelessly and truly if it were not for knowing thee to be honest i should doubt the miracle altogether and thou be of the majority said for our house has been a very bee hive of and trouble ever since a bit of good was done in it and the mother of the cured child has led the life of the damned thanks to the kindness of her neighbours and friends and will you believe me the of himself took the trouble to walk into the market place and assure her she was a wicked woman that she had taught her boy to play the in order to excite pity and i believe he thinks she is concerned in the strange disappearance of his clerk for this same came to our house one night when was there and told her he had instructions to take her to rome to see the pope and her child with her for the purpose of explaining the miracle in her own words and giving the full life history of herself and the little one and she was angry ah she can be very angry poor she has a shrill tongue and a wild eye and she said out that she would not	33
go and that she would not be caught in a priest s trap or words to that effect and this clerk a miserable little white rascal crawled away from my door in a rage with us all and was never seen again the police have hunted high and low for trace of him but can find none but i have my suspicions what are they that he went out like and hanged himself truly he might have done that without loss or trouble to anyone said but he thought too well of himself to be quite so ready for a meeting with le bon no i will tell you what i think there was a poor girl who used to about the streets of our town called she was once a sensible bright creature enough the only daughter of old the who died from a kick from his favourite horse one day and left his child all alone in the world she was a in a great silk factory and was happy and contented so it seemed till well it is the old b wan with a woman and the man s most oi w n the master christian in it anyway this went mad on her and we called her la not harshly for all the town was kind to her i mentioned her name once in the presence of this man and he started as if an had bitten him and now he has disappeared and strange to say so has she so has she echoed opening his eyes a little wider then what do you suppose just this said his words by marking them out with a fat thumb on the palm of the other hand that was the villain of the piece as they say in the theatres and that she has punished him for his she used to swear in her mad speech that if ever she met the man who had spoilt her life for her she would kill him and that is just what i believe she has done but would she kill herself also demanded and what has become of one or both bodies ah there thou dost ask more than i can answer i said but what is very certain is that both bodies living or dead have disappeared and as i said to my wife when she put these things into my head for look you my head is but a dull one and if my wife did not put things into it it would be but an altogether i said to my wife that if she were right in her suspicions and she generally is right this had taken but a just vengeance for you will not prove to me that there is any living who has the right to take the joy out of a woman s soul and destroy it it is done every day said with a careless shrug women give themselves too easily and men take too i said what virtue there is in the matter is on the woman s side for she mostly gives herself for love s sake but the man cares naught save for his own selfish pleasure as a man myself i am on the side of the woman who herself on her for that matter so am i said women have a hard time of it in this world even under the best of circumstances and whatever man makes it harder for them should be horse whipped within an inch of his life if i had my v a a wife and a young and my mo x x jew the master christian as cheery and bright a body as you would find in all france and so i know the worth of women if any rascal were to insult my girl by so much as a look he would find himself in the ditch with a sore back before he had time to cry he laughed laughed with him and then went on i told thee of the miracle in my house and of the boy the cardinal found in the streets well these things have had their good effect in my own family my two children and ah what children god be praised for them as bright as kind as the sunlight and their love for me and their mother is a great thing i good thing look you one cannot be sufficiently grateful for it for nowadays children too often despise their parents which is bad luck to them in their after days but ours wild as they were a while ago are all obedience and sweetness i used often to wonder what would become of them as they grew up for they were wilful and angry tempered and cruel in speech but i have no fear now works well at his lessons and too and there is something better than the learning of lessons about them something new and bright in their dispositions which makes us all happy and this has come about since the cardinal stayed with us and also since the pretty boy was found outside the cathedral that boy seems to have impressed thee more than the cardinal himself said but now i remember well on the day the preached his last sermon and was nearly shot dead by his own son there was a rumour that his life had been saved by some boy who was an attendant on the cardinal and who interposed himself between the and the flying bullet that must have been the one you mean no doubt no doubt said nodding gravely there was something about him that seemed a sort of shield against	33
or at least so said my wife and so say my children only the other day my boy he is big and full of mischief as boys will be was playing two or three younger lads and one of them like a little stole up behind him and gave him a blow with a stick which broke in two the master christian the way the young rascal went to work with it now thought i there will be need for me to step out and stop this quarrel for will beat that miserable little wretch into a but nothing of the sort my boy turned round with a bright laugh picked up the two pieces of the stick and gave them back to the little coward with a civil bow hit in front next time he said and the little wretch turned tail and began to in fine fashion crying as if he had been hurt instead of but they are the best friends in the world now i asked about it afterwards and he turned as red as an apple in the cheeks i wanted to kill him father he said but i knew that the boy who was with cardinal would not have done it and so i did not now look you for a rough little fellow such as that was a great victory over his passions and there is no doubt the cardinal s little was the cause of his so managing himself had nothing to say in answer the subject was getting beyond him and he was a man who when thought became difficult gave up thinking altogether and while these two simple minded were thus talking and strolling together home through the streets of paris having parted from the few friends who had paid him the respect of their attendance at his father s grave was making his way towards the in a meditative frame of mind when his attention was suddenly caught and by a set up in front of one of the newspaper at the corner of a on which in great black letters was the name his heart gave one great bound then stood still the streets of the city round him and he grew cold and sick de la hardly knowing what he was about he bought the paper the news was in a mere briefly stating that the celebrated artist had been found in her and that up to the present there was no trace of the unknown passionate and as his warm nature was the great tears rushed to s eyes in one moment he realized what he had been almost unconsciously in his own ei v smile the master christian had shone upon him when in the few minutes of speech he had had with her she admitted herself to be the mysterious correspondent who had constantly written to him as fervently with his theories and urging him on to fresh and more courageous effort he had been completely overcome not only with surprise but also with admiration it had taken him some time to realize that she the greatest artist of her day was actually his unknown friend of more than two years correspondence he knew she was engaged to be married to her comrade in art but that fact did not prevent him from feeling for her all the sudden tenderness the instinctive intimacy of spirit with spirit which in the highest natures means the highest love then they had all been brought together so strangely his father and himself with cardinal and she the cardinal s fair niece daughter of a proud roman house she had not turned away from the and priest whom the church had cast out she had given him her hand at parting and had been as sweetly considerate of his feelings as though she had been his own daughter and when he was ill and dying at the d she had written to him two or three times in the kindest and tenderest way and her letters had not been answered because the was too ill ta write and he had been afraid lest he should say too much and now she was dead murdered he would not believe it god is good said crushing the paper in his hand and raising his eyes to the cloudy heavens he does nothing that is cruel he would not take that brilliant creature away till she had won the reward of her work happiness no something tells mc this news is false she cannot be dead but i will start for rome to night he returned to the cheap where he had his room and at once packed his with all his fame he was extremely poor he had for the most part refused to take payment for his books and which had been so freely spread through france preferring to work for his daily bread in the fields of an extensive farm near bis in he had began the master christian little lad earning his by keeping the birds away from the crops an had steadily risen by degrees through his honesty and diligence to the post of or of the whole concern no one was more trusted than he by his no one more worthy of trust but his wages were by no means considerable and though he saved as much as he could and lived on the fare it was a matter of some trouble for him to spare the money to take him from paris to rome what cash he had he carried about him in a bag and this he now emptied on the table to estimate the strength of his any possibility of changing his mind and waiting for further news from rome did not occur to him one	33
i am quite unable to enter into any sort of discussion with you on these things please recollect that my life as a lawyer depends entirely on men s and if they all entertained your views i should have to beg in the streets or seek another profession in my present business i should have nothing whatever to do you perceive the position yes of course you do for with one of the quick changes of mood habitual to him smiled as his temporary irritation passed like a cloud and his eyes softened you see i am a machine educated to be a machine and i am set down to do certain machine like duties and one of these duties is regardless of your fame your eccentric theories your special work which you have chosen to make for yourself in the world to put you in possession of the money your father left you can you now at once said suddenly give me enough money to go to rome to night stared to go to rome to night he echoed dear me how very extraordinary i i beg your pardon of course most certainly i can advance you any sum you want would ten thousand suffice ten thousand laughed i never had so much money in all my life no well i have not the notes about me at the moment but i will send you up that sum in an hour if you wish it your father s will you to five million so you see i am not in any way myself by advancing you ten thousand was quite silent the lawyer studied him curiously but could not determine whether he was pleased or sorry at the announcement of his fortune his handsome face was pale and grave and after a pause he said simply thank you then i can go to rome if you will send me the money you speak of i shall be glad as it will enable me to start to night for the rest kindly publish my father s will as he instructed you to do and i when i return to paris will consult you on the best way in whidi i can dispose of my father s millions the master christian dispose of them began young interrupted him by a slight gesture pardon me if i ask you to conclude this interview for the present i want nothing else in the world but to get to rome as quickly as possible a le he smiled but his manner was that of some great french noble who gently yet firmly the attentions of a too servant and much to his own surprise found himself bowing low and out of the poorly furnished room in as much embarrassment as though he had accidentally stumbled into a palace where his presence was not required and left to himself gathered up all the he had been counting out previous to the lawyer s arrival and tied them again together in the old bag then having closed and his little travelling sat down and waited to the time indicated that is to say in one hour from the moment had concluded his interview with the celebrated personage whom he now mentally called an impossible young man a clerk arrived bringing the ten thousand promised he counted the notes out carefully watching him quietly the while and taking sympathetic observation of his shabby appearance his thread bare coat and his general expression of pinched and anxious poverty you will perceive it is all right he said humbly as he finished counting what are you mon ami asked scarcely glancing at the notes but fixing a searching glance on the messenger who had brought them i and the clerk nervously and blushed oh i am nothing i am s clerk that is all and does he pay you well thirty a week it is not bad only this i was young a few years ago and i married and two dear little ones came so it is a pull at times to make everything go as it should not that i am sorry for myself at all oh no for i am well off as the go interrupted him yes as tlie go v you all say the master christian you patient brave souls see you my friend i do not want all this money and he took up a note for five hundred take this and make the wife and little happy stammered the astonished clerk how can i dare dare nay there is no daring in freely taking what your brother freely gives you you must let me practise what i preach my friend otherwise i am only a fraud and unfit to live god keep you the clerk still stood trembling afraid to take up the note and unable through emotion to speak a word even of thanks upon which folded up the note and put it himself in the man s pocket there go and make happiness with that bit of paper he said who can tell through what dirty s hand it has been carrying curses with it perchance on its way use it now for the comfort of a woman and her little children and perhaps it will bring blessing to a living man as well as to a departed soul and he literally put the poor fellow outside his door shutting it gently upon him that night he left for rome and as the express tore its grinding way along over the iron rails towards the south he repeated to himself over and over again as in a dream no is not dead she cannot be dead god is too good for that he will not let	33
her die before she knows before she knows i love her the chain of circumstance had lengthened by several links round the radiant life of since that bright winter morning when she had been startled out of her reverie in the gardens of the villa by the unexpected appearance of the deaths of the and the actor in the over her name had caused so much malicious and cruel gossip that she had withdrawn herself almost entirely from roman society which had with one consent declared that she was only marrying to shield herself from her with the late and then the attack on her friend which occurred almost immediately after her engagement to was announced had occupied all her thoughts so that she had almost forgotten the promise she had made to g nt a private interview to whenever he should seek it and she was not a little vexed one morning when she was talking to her concerning the plans which were now in progress for their going to england as soon as possible to receive a note reminding her of that promise and permission to call upon her that very afternoon how very unfortunate and tiresome said with a charming and upward look at her lover who promptly kissed the lips that made such a pretty curve of disdain i suppose he wants to give me a serious lecture on the of marriage i shall i receive him i remember when i met him last that he had something important to say about cardinal then you must certainly give him an audience answered you may perhaps find out what has happened to bring the good cardinal into at the for there is no doubt that he is extremely worried and anxious he is strongly desirous of leaving at once with l al g ft aa who from all the master christian i can gather has said something to the pope is out of danger now and i am trying to persuade the cardinal to accompany us to england and be present at our marriage that would be delightful said with a smile but my where are we going to be married in england as i said not here i said firmly not here where evil tongues have spoken lies against my darling he drew her into his arms and looked at her fondly i want you to start for england soon and if possible i should like you to go not only with the faithful but also in the care of the cardinal i will you by some days and arrange everything for your reception and then we will be married in my way said nothing she merely like a dove in the arms of her and seemed quite content to accept whatever he laid down for the ruling of her fate i think you must see he resumed write a line and say you will be happy to receive him at the hour he obeyed and despatched the note at once to the by her man servant looked at her intently i wonder i wonder he began and then stopped she met his earnest eyes with a smile in her own you wonder what she i wonder whether you could endure a very great trial or make a very g eat sacrifice for my sake he said then as he saw her expression he took her little hand and kissed it there i forgive me of course you would only you look such a slight thing such a soft flower of a woman like a rose bud to be worn next the heart always that it seems difficult to picture you as an heroine under trying circumstances yet of course you would be i make no boast my she said gently he kissed her tenderly reverently studying her sweet eyes and delicate colouring with all the fond scrutiny of a love which cannot tire of the thing it loves the master are you going round to see this morning he asked yes i always go she is much better she sits up a little every day now she says nothing of her nothing but i know him we all know him said sternly but she will never speak she will never let the world know ah but the world will soon guess said for is beginning to ask where her is why he has shown no anxiety why he has not been to see her and a thousand other questions that does not matter while she is silent no one dare accuse him what a marvellous spirit of patience and forgiveness she has is like her name an angel declared the tears spring g to her eyes i could almost worship her when i see her there in her looking so white and frail and sad quiet and patient thanking us all for every little service done and never once mentioning the name of the man she loved so passionately sometimes the dear old cardinal sits beside her and talks sometimes her father is nearly always with her and she is quite easy and content one would almost say happy when he is there he is so very gentle with her but you can see it all the awful sorrow that upon her heart you can see she has lost something she can never find again her eyes look so wistful her smile is so sad poor was silent a moment what of the d oh she is simply a treasure said she and my dear old are never weary in well doing as soon as can be moved the wants to take her back to paris because then rome can be allowed to pour	33
into her to see her great picture what does say to that seems resigned to anything answered the only wish she ever expresses is that should not leave her there is x k said the master christian slowly from the first time i saw him he impressed me with a sense of something altogether beyond his mere appearance he is a child yet not a child and i have often felt that he commands me without my that i am so commanded i how strange i yes it is strange and s eyes grew graver with the intensity of his thought there is some secret r but he broke oflf with a puzzled air i cannot explain it so it is no use thinking about it i went to s yesterday and asked if there had been any news of him but there was none i wonder where the brute has gone i it would be well if he had made exit out of the world altogether said but he is too vain of himself for that however his absence suspicion and even if does not speak people will guess for themselves what she does not say he will never dare to show himself in rome their conversation was abruptly terminated here by the entrance of madame with a quantity of fresh flowers which she had been out to purchase for to take as usual on her morning visit to her suffering friend and took his leave promising to return later in the afternoon after had been and gone but he had his own ideas on the subject of s visit to his fair ideas which he kept to himself for if his were correct now was the time to put s character to the test he did not doubt her in the very least but he could never quite get away from her child like appearance of woman to the contemplation of the spirit behind the pretty exterior her beauty was so so dazzling so dainty that it seemed to fire the very air as a fires it and there was no room for any more serious consideration than that of purely feminine charm walking almost through the streets he thought again and yet again of the sweet face the rippling hair the laughing yet tender eyes the sunny smile behind that beautiful picture or earth phantom of womanhood is there that sword of flame the soul the soul that will through and come out as n s the master christian the end of the fight as at the beginning he mused or is it not too much to expect of a mere woman that she can contend against the anger of a church he was still thinking on this subject when walking quickly came face to face with him and said he started and stared then uttered a j cry of pleasure j the two men clasped each other s hands in a warm strong g and for a moment neither could speak my dear fellow said at this is in deed an unexpected meeting how glad i am to see you when did you arrive in rome this morning only said recovering his speech and his together and as soon as i arrived i found that my hopes had not betrayed me she is not dead she started my dear or rather i must call you now who is the triumphant she that has brought you thus post haste to rome flushed then g pale i should not have spoken he said and yet why you were my first friend you found me working in the fields a peasant lad and sullen burning up my soul with passionate thoughts which but for you might never have into action you rescued me you made me all i am so why should i not confess to you at once that there is a woman i love yes love with all my soul though i have seen her but once and she is too far off too fair and great for me she does not know i love but i heard she had been murdered that she was dead cried bent his head as a might at the shrine of a saint yes looked at his handsome face glowing with enthusiasm and saw the passion the tenderness the devotion of a life flashing in his fine eyes love at first s h said with a smile i believe it is the only true k t a i sam h to express the oi so a ft the master christian is a woman among ten thousand the love of her alone is sufficient to make a man better and nobler in every way and if you can win her ah that is impossible she is already took his arm come with me and i will tell you all i know he said for there is much to say and when you have heard everything you may not be altogether without hope they turned and went towards the which they presently entered and where numbers of by paused involuntarily to look at the two men who offered such a marked contrast to each other the one and with dark eager eyes the other with the slim well set up figure of an and the fair head of a saxon king and of the many who so looked after them none guessed that the one was destined in a few years time to create a silent and french revolution which should give back to france her white lilies of faith and chivalry or that the other was the of such a perfect form of as should soon command the following of thousands in all parts of the	33
world and while they thus walked through the roman crowd the two women they loved were talking of them in s sick room softly shaded from the light with a cheery wood fire burning sat by her friend telling her all she could think of that would interest her and rouse her from the deep gravity of mood in which she nearly always found her the weary days of pain and illness had given a strange new beauty her face delicate and pale seemed by the working of the soul within and her eyes tired as they were and often heavy with tears had a serenity in their depths which was not of earth but all of heaven she was able now to move from her bed and lie on a couch near the fire and her little white hands moved and with loving care among the of beautiful flowers which had laid on her and all the sweet scented flowers of early spring which come to rome in december from the fields of how sweet they are she said with a half sigh they almost make me in love with life again the master christian said nothing but only kissed her how good you are to me dearest i she then said you deserve to be very happy not half so much as you do responded tenderly i am of no use at all to the world and you the world would not miss me a bit but it would not find an again in a hurry i raised a cluster of and their fine and delicate perfume there were tears in her eyes but she hid them with a spray of the flowers ah you think too well of me i to be famous is nothing to be loved is everything looked at her earnestly you are loved she said no no she said no i am not loved i am hated hush do not say one word of what is in your mind for i will not hear it she spoke and her cheeks flushed a sudden feverish red made haste to try and soothe her my darling girl i would not say anything to vex you for the world i you must not excite yourself i am not excited said putting her arms round her friend and drawing her fair head down till it was half hidden against her own bosom no but i must speak bear with me for a minute dear we all have our dreams we women and i have had mine i there was such a beautiful thing in the world as a great unselfish love i fancied that a woman if gifted with a little power and ability above the rest of her sex could make the man she loved proud of her not jealous i thought that a lover delighted in the of his beloved thought there was nothing too high too g eat too glorious to attempt for the sake of proving worthy to be loved and now i have found out the truth b bitter truth but no doubt good for me to know that men will kill what they once out of a mere grudge of the passing breath called fame thus love is not what i dreamed it and i who was so foolishly glad to think that i was loved have up to know that i am hated to the very extremity of hate for a poor gift of brain and hand which i xv n x a v the master christian raised her head and gently put aside the weak trembling little hands that embraced her you must not scorn the gifts of the gods no no you will not let me say anything you forbid me to express my thoughts fully and i know you are not well enough to hear me yet but one day you will know you will hear you will even b thankful for all the sorrow you have passed through and dear dearest do not be ungrateful i she said the word boldly yet hesitatingly bending over the couch tenderly her eyes full of light and a smile on her lips and taking up a knot of she swept their cool blossoms softly across s burning forehead murmuring do not be ungrateful ungrateful echoed and she moved yes darling do not say you wish you never had received the g eat gifts god has given you do not judge of things by sorrow s only i repeat you are loved though not perhaps where you most relied on love your father loves you your uncle loves you loves you interrupted her with a protesting gesture yes i know she murmured but but you think all this love is worthless as compared with a love that was no love at all said there we will not speak about it any more just now you are strong and you see things in their darkest light shall i talk to you about ah that is a subject you are never tired of said with a faint smile nor am i well you ought to be answered gaily for i am too blindly hopelessly in love to know when to stop i see nothing else and know nothing else it is all the time the air the sunlight the whole world seem only an admirable of then how would you feel if he did not love you any more asked but that is not possible said could not change it is not in him he is not like our poor friend the master christian ah that love of yours was only fancy we all have our fancies answered the pretty g looking very earnestly into s eyes we arc not	33
him attentively from under her long lashes but maintained a perfect silence the news has been received by the holy father with great pleasure he said at last his special tion will grace your day bent her head the master christian the holy father is most gracious she replied quietly and he is also more liberal than i imagined if he is willing to bestow his special on my marriage with one who is considered a by the church he flashed a keen glance at her then forced a smile mr s is of the past he said we welcome him with you as one of us was silent he waited inwardly cursing her tranquillity then as she still did not speak he went on in smooth accents the church all who truly repent she all who come to her in confidence no matter how or hesitating their approach we shall receive the husband of our daughter with such joy as the prodigal son was in old time received and of his past mistakes and follies there shall be neither word nor memory then looked up and fixed her deep blue eyes steadily upon him she said very sweetly why talk all this nonsense to me do you not that as the wife of i am past the church counsel or command still smiled past church counsel or command he murmured with an indulgent air as though he were talking to a very small child pardon me if i am at a loss to understand oh you understand very well said you know perfectly or you should that a wife s duty is to obey her husband and that in future his church not yours must be hers also surely you speak in said preserving his mr is or was a would be ardent but he has no real church then i have none replied there was a moment s silence a black rage began to in s soul rage all the more intense because so closely suppressed i am still at a loss to follow you he said coldly surely you do not mean to im x o ax o the master christian marriage will you from the church of your fathers marriage for me means an oath before god to take my husband for better or for worse and to be true to him under all trial and circumstances said and i assuredly mean to keep that oath whatever his form of faith i intend to follow it as i intend to obey his commands whatever they may be or wherever they may lead for this to me is the only true love this to me is the only possible holy estate of matrimony and for the church church which does not hesitate to a dying man and a good one i will leave the possibility of its wrath together with all other consequences of my act to god for one moment felt that he could have sprung upon her and her the next he had mastered himself sufficiently to speak this woman so slight so beautiful so insolent should not him he resolved and bending his dark brows he addressed her in his and most manner you talk of god he said as a child talks of the sun and moon with as little meaning and less comprehension what impertinence it is for a woman like yourself vain weak and worldly to assert your own will your own thought and opinion in the face of th most high what will desert the church you whose ancestors have for ages been devout servants of the faith you the last of the counts a noble and loyal family will de your birth by taking up with the rags and of humanity the of life and by your sheer stupidity and obstinacy you will allow your husband s soul to be dragged to with your own you call it love to keep him an you call it marriage to be united to him without the blessings of holy church where is your reason where is your judgment where your faith not in my bank replied coldly though that is the place where you would naturally expect to find n v d ud the of their working s to va tl a v on x v o the master christian no wish to offend but your manner to me is and unless you are disposed to discuss this matter i must close our interview flushed a dark red then grew pale after all the was in her own house she had the right to command his exit if she chose small and slight as she was she had a dignity and power as great as his own and if anything was to be gained from her it was necessary to among many other for the part he had to play in life he was an admirable actor and would have made his fortune on the legitimate stage and this quick change ability served him in good stead now he rose from his chair as though moved by agitation and walked to the window then turned again and came slowly and with bent head towards her forgave me he said simply i was wrong easily moved to kindness was touched by this apparent humility on the part of a man so renowned for and she at once gave him her hand i shall forget your words she said gently so there is nothing to pardon thank you for your generosity he said still standing before her and preserving his grave and quiet in my zeal for holy church my tongue frequently my prudence i confess you have hurt me cruelly you are a mere child to me young beautiful	33
i know also that my father the late count was apparently equally loyal to the church though really only so because it was too much trouble for him to think seriously about anything save hunting but i the last of the race do not intend to be bound or commanded by the of any church in the face of the great truths declared to the world to day my faith in is as my husband s faith in god my heart is his my life is his from henceforth we are together and together we are content to go after death wherever god shall be it hell or heaven wait said in low fierce accents his eyes glittering with mingled rage and the admiration of her beauty which he could ill conceal wait if you care nothing for yourself in this matter is it possible that you care nothing for him have you thought of the results of such as you listen i and he leaned forward in his chair his dark brows bent and his whole attitude expressive of a malice your marriage without the blessing of the church of your fathers shall be declared your children pronounced wherever the of the church are spread and they are everywhere you the brilliant the the admired shall find yourself not only outside the church but outside all society you will be considered as living in sin as no true wife but merely the mistress of the man with whom you have elected to wander the world and he when he sees the finger of scorn pointed at you and at his children he also will change as all men change when change is convenient or advantageous to themselves he will in time weary of his miserable christian theories aud oi j the master christian of you and suddenly sprang up and drew nearer to her even of you i say he will weary o your beauty that delicate fine loveliness which makes me long to possess it me a priest of the mother church whose heart is supposed to beat only for two things power and revenge listen listen yet a moment and he drew a step nearer while held her where she stood and like a queen though she was pale to the very lips what of the friend you love so well who has dared to paint such a picture as should be burnt in the public market place for its vile do you think she will escape wrath of the church not she we in our day use neither poison nor cold steel but we know how to poison a name and a reputation what you shrink at that listen yet listen a moment longer and remember that nothing escapes the eye of rome at this very moment i can place my hand on concerning whom there is a rumour that he attempted the of his wife an deed that no sane man could ever have here uttered a slight exclamation and he paused looking at her with a cold smile yes i repeat it i a deed which no sane man could have the unfortunate the deeply wronged is prepared to swear and am prepared to swear with him that he is of any such vile act or treachery and also that he painted more than half of the great picture this n claims as her own work whilst strongly protesting against its and begging her to alter certain figures in the canvas still he gave her for love s sake all his masculine ability the idea is hers but the drawing the colouring the are his he is a liar cried passionately let him prove his he he shall have every chance to prove it answered calmly will give him every chance will support what you call his lie say it is a truth no woman could have painted that picture and mark you well the mere discussion will be sufficient to kill the s fame i heedless of s c ca ft x s the master christian everything concerning herself rushed up to him and laid one hand on his arm what are you a servant of christ she said or a slave of the devil both he answered looking down upon her fair beauty with a wicked light shining in his eyes both and he grasped the little soft hand that lay on his arm and held it as in a vice you are not wanting in age to come so close to me to let me hold your hand how pale you look if you were like other women you would scream or summon your servants and create a scandal you know better you know no scandal would ever be believed of a priest attached to the court of rome stay there where you are i will not hurt you by all the raging fire of love for you in my heart i will not touch more than this hand of yours good now you are quite still i say again you have courage your eyes do not they look straight into mine what brave eyes you would search the very core of my intentions you shall do you not think it enough for me who am human though priest to g ve you up to the possession of a man i hate a man who has insulted me is it not enough i say to my own passion thus without having to the possibility of your that church for whose sake i thus resign you for had this never met you i would have you mine still silent and your little hand still quiet in mine i envy you your nerve you stand	33
torture well but i will not keep you on the rack too long you shall know the worst at once then you shall yourself judge the position you shall prove for yourself the power of rome to escape that power you would have as the scripture says to take the wings of the morning and fly into the parts of the sea think well the fame and reputation of can be ruined at my command and equally the and position of her uncle cardinal with a sudden movement her hand away from his and stood at bay her eyes flashing her cheeks cardinal she cried what evil have you n your mind against him are you o o ao t the master christian sense of common justice as to attempt to injure one who is greater than many of the church s saints in virtue and honesty what has he done to you smiled you excite yourself he said he has done nothing to me personally he is simply in my way that is his sole offence and whatever is in my way i remove nothing is easier than to remove cardinal for he has by his very simplicity fallen into a trap from which will be difficult he should have stopped in his career with the performance of his miracle at then all would have been well he should not have gone on to paris there to the crime of the and then come on to rome to come to rome under such circumstances was like putting his head in the wolf s mouth but the most unfortunate thing he has done on his ill fated journey is to have played protector to that boy he has with him why demanded growing pale as before she had been flushed do not ask why said for a true answer would only anger you suffice it for you to know that whatever is in the way of rome must be removed shall be removed at all costs cardinal as i said before is in the way and unless he can account fully and frankly for his strange companionship with a mere child wanderer picked out of the streets he will lose his if he in denying all knowledge of the boy s origin he will lose his cardinal s hat there is nothing more to be said but there is one remedy for all this mischief and it rests with you with me trembled her heart beat violently she looked as though she were about to and put out his arm to support her she pushed him away indignantly do not touch me she said her sweet voice shaken with something like the weakness of tears you tempt me to kill you to kill you and rid the world of a human his eyes flashed and at the comers in the strange snake like way habitual to them how l i m t s said there are some e m v i s the master christian slight little creatures like you all fire and spirit enclosed in sweetness and in their ignorance they escape much danger i for when a man to pick up a small flower half hidden in the long grass he does not expect it to half him with its sweetness or half murder him by its sting that is why you are irresistible to me and to many yes no doubt you would like to kill me and many a man would like to be killed by if i were not servant of mother church i would willingly submit to death at your hands but being what i am i must live and living i must work to fulfil the commands of the church and so faithful am i in the work of our lord s that i care not how many grapes i press in the making of his wine i tell you plainly that it rests with you to save your friend and the cardinal likewise keep to the vows you have sworn to holy church vows sworn for you in infancy at and renewed by yourself at your confirmation and first communion bring your husband to us and s mouth shall be closed the s reputation shall shine like the sun at even the rank of her picture shall be forgiven and the cardinal and his shall go free clasped her hands passionately together and raised them in an attitude of entreaty oh why are you so cruel she cried why do you demand from me what you know to be impossible it is not impossible answered watching her closely as he spoke the church is she demands nothing in haste nothing unreasonable i do not even ask you to bring about s before your marriage you are free to wed him in your own way and in his provided that one of the marriage takes place according to our catholic rites but after you are thus wedded you must promise to bring him to us you must further promise that any children bom of your union be in the catholic faith with such a pledge from you in writing i will be satisfied and out of all the and confusion at present existing your friends shall escape i swear it he raised his hand with a lofty v s m v i the master christian were asserting the truth and grandeur of some specially noble cause letting her clasped hands drop with a movement of despair stood gazing at him in fascinated horror the church he went on warming with his own inward the rock on which our lord the real fabric of the universe and his tall form dilated with the utterance of his the learning the science the of men shall pass as dust	33
it is the first time i have ever played the but my duty was to protect my promised wife if she needed protection and i thought it was possible she might need it from you turned a livid and drew a quick breath i know your moves went on quietly and it will be my business s lo the master christian moreover i shall give your plot into the care of the public press you will not dare cried fiercely but after all what matter if you do no one will believe you not in rome perhaps returned coolly but in england in america things are different there are many honest men who dislike to contemplate even a distant vision of the of rome hovering over us we look upon such mischief as a sign of decay for only where the of nations lie does the we are not dead yet and now as your interview with the is ended an interview to which i have been a witness may i suggest the removal of your presence you have made a proposition she has rejected it the matter is ended calm and cold he stood holding close to him with one embracing arm and looking at the two together thus wished that the heavy and painted ceiling above them might fall and crush them into a before him no shame no sense of moved him if anything he raised his head more than before he said whatever you choose to call yourself you have all the insolence of your race and class and it is beneath my dignity to argue with you but you will the day you ever crossed my path not one thing have i threatened that shall not be performed this unhappy lady whose mind has been from holy church by your shall be henceforth we look upon her as a child of sin and we shall publicly declare her marriage with you the rest can be left with confidence to society and with a dark smile which made his face look like that of some malignant demon he turned and preserving his proud of without another look or gesture left the apartment then alone with his love drew her closer and lifted her fair face to his own looking at it with passionate tenderness and admiration you brave soul he said you true you angel of the oi love how n x the master christian tell you how i worship you how i you for truth and courage she trembled under the of his utterance and her eyes filled with tears i was not afraid she said i should have called only i knew that if i once did so she also would be involved and he would be enough to ruin my name with a few words in order to defend himself from all suspicion but you how did it happen that you were here i was here from the first he replied i followed on s very heels your boy admitted me he was in my secret he showed me into the just outside where by leaving a comer of the door i could see and hear everything and i listened to your every word i saw every bright flash of the strong soul in your brave eyes now those eyes question me sweetheart almost reproachfully they seem to ask me why i did not interfere between you and before ah but you must forgive me for the delay i wanted to drink all my cup of to the i could not lose one drop of such sweetness to see you slight fragile blossom of a woman your truth and courage against the treachery and malice of the most tool ever employed by the was a sight to make me strong for all my days i he kissed her passionately my love i my wife i how can i ever thank you she raised her sweet eyes did you doubt me no i never doubted you but i wondered whether your force would hold out whether you might not be whether you might not which would have been natural enough whether you might not have used some little social art or g ce to cover up and disguise the of your resolve but no you were a heroine in the fight and you gave your blows straight from the without you have made me twice a man with you beside me i shall win all i might otherwise have lost and i thank god for you dear i thank god for you he drew her close l tv o tv r pressing her his heart which beat om k the master christian wig no fear now that they two would ever cease to be one no danger now of those miserable so called religious between husband and wife which are so eminently anti christian and which make ma y a home a hell upon earth which young children sometimes have to witness from their earliest years when the mother talks at the father for not going to church or the father at the mother for being a rank nothing now but absolute union in spirit and thought in soul and intention the union that can be between man and woman and yet the only one that can perfect peace and happiness and presently the lovers trance of joy gave way to thought for others to a of the dangers hovering over the good cardinal and the already ill fated and raising the golden head that against his breast kissed the sweet lips once more and said now my we must take the law into our own hands we must do all we can to save our friends the cardinal must be	33
thought of first if we are not quick to the rescue he will be sent into retreat which can be translated as forced otherwise imprisonment he must leave rome to night now listen and sitting down beside her still holding her hand he gave her an account of his meeting with otherwise and told her of the sudden passion for that had fired the soul of that fiery writer of the against that had as yet startled france knowing now all the intended of continued what i suggest is this that you my should confide in the d who is fortunately for us an enemy of the arrange with her that she to return under her escort at once to paris is well enough to travel if great care be taken of her and the will not spare that can go with them i should think that might be managed he smiled as he put this question smiled in answer and replied i should think the master christian but the cardinal resumed and and must go to night i will see prince and arrange it and will you marry me tomorrow morning her eyes opened wide and she laughed why yes if you wish it i she said but so soon darling the sooner the better i mean to take every possible method of making our marriage binding in the sight of the world before the has time to its if you are willing we can be married at the american to morrow morning you must remember that though bom of british parents i do not resign my american and would not forego being of the new world for all the old worlds ever made the american knows me well and he will begin to make things legal for us to morrow if you are ready begin to make things legal echoed smiling will he do no more than begin my sweetheart he cannot he will make you mine according to american law in england you will again be made mine according to english law and then afterwards we will have our religious ceremony looked at him then gave a pretty gesture of playful resignation let everything be as you wish and decide she said i give my life and love to you and have no other will but yours he kissed her i accept the submission only to put myself more thoroughly at your command he said tenderly you are my queen but with powerful enemies against us i must see that you are a few minutes more conversation then a hurried consultation with madame and changing her lace gown for a simple travelling dress walked out of the d the faithful and taking the first carriage she could find was driven to the where the d had her apartments allowing from ten to fifteen minutes to after her departure himself went out and standing on the steps ol x up and down carelessly drawing v s o v s the master christian his quick glance soon what he had been almost certain he should see namely the straight black figure of a priest walking slowly along the street on the opposite side his hands clasped behind his back and his whole aspect of devout meditation i thought so said to himself a spy set on already no time to lose cardinal must leave rome at nightfall leisurely he crossed the road and walking with as slow a step as the priest he had noticed came opposite to him face to face with impenetrable solemnity the holy man meekly moved aside with equally impenetrable coolness eyed him up and down then the two passed each other and walked with the same pace to the end of the street then turned to see that the priest had paused in his holy to his neck after him and watch him with the most eager scrutiny he did not therefore take a carriage at the moment he intended but walked on into the there he sprang into a and drove straight to the palace the first figure he saw there strolling about in the front of the building was another priest absorbed in apparently profound thoughts on the of the sunset which was just then casting its red glow over the eternal city and with the appearance of this second of the police he the full significance of the existing position of affairs without a moment s loss of time he was ushered into the presence of the cardinal and there for a moment stood silent on the threshold of the apartment overcome by the noble aspect of the venerable who seated in his great chair was listening to a part of the gospel of saint read aloud in clear sweet accents by a good man out of the good treasure of his heart forth that which is good and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart forth that which is evil for oi the abundance of the heart his mouth and why call ye me lord lord and do not the things which i say to me and my sayings und them i will show you to c the master christian he is like a man which built an house and deep and laid the foundation on a rock and when the flood arose the stream beat vehemently upon that house and could not shake it for it was founded upon a rock but he that and not is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth against which the stream did beat vehemently and immediately it fell and the ruin of that house was great and the last line closed book then at a kindly gesture from the cardinal advanced into the room bowing with deep reverence and honour over the worn old hand the extended	33
my lord cardinal he said without further preface you must leave rome to night the cardinal raised his gentle blue eyes in wondering protest by whose order surely by your own master s will said with deep earnestness for he would not have you be a victim to treachery treachery i and the cardinal smiled my son harm themselves more than those they would betray treachery cannot touch me came a step nearer if you do not care for yourself you will care for the boy he said in a lower tone with a glance at who had withdrawn and was now standing at one of the windows the light of the sunset appearing to itself in his fair hair he will be separated from you j at this the cardinal rose up his whole form instinct with resolution and dignity they cannot separate us against the boy s will or mine he said came to his call and the cardinal placed one hand on his shoulder child he said softly they threaten to part me from you if we stay longer here therefore we must leave rome looked up glance of ten the master christian yes dear friend we must leave rome he said rome is no place for you or for me there was a moment s silence something in the attitude of the old man and the young boy standing side by side moved deeply a sense of awe as well as love overwhelmed him at the sight of these two beings so pure in mind so gentle of heart and so widely removed in years and in life the one a priest of the church the other a of the streets yet drawn together as it seemed by the simple spirit of christ s teaching in an almost supernatural bond of union recovering himself presently he said to night then the cardinal looked at who answered for him yes to night i we will be ready i for the days are close upon the time when the birth of christ was announced to a world that does not yet believe in him it will be well to leave rome before then for the riches of the pope s palace have nothing to do with the poor babe bom in a and the curse of the would be a discord in the angels singing glory to god in the highest and on earth peace towards men i his young voice rang out silver clear and sweet and gazed at him in wondering silence to night i repeated smiling and stretching out his hand with a gentle gesture tonight the cardinal will leave rome and will leave it perchance for ever during these various changes in the lives of those with whom he had been more or less connected lay between life and death in the shelter of a on the when he had been seized by the delirium and fever which had flung him first and quivering and then totally insensible at the foot of the grim world forgotten men who passed the midnight hours in digging their own graves he had been judged by them as dying or dead and had been carried into a sort of chapel cold and bare and lit only by the silver and the of a torch one of the carried waking in this ghastly place too weak to struggle he fell a moaning like a tortured child and was on showing this sign of life straightway removed to one of the here after hours of horrible suffering of visions more hideous than s hell of and struggles of fits of strong shrieking followed by weak tears he woke one afternoon calm and to find himself lying on a straight bed in a narrow stone chamber dimly lighted by a small of window through which a beam of the sun fell the blood stained features of a ghastly christ stretched on a black directly opposite him he shuddered as he saw this and half closed his eyes with a deep sigh tired tired said a thin clear voice beside him always tired it is only god who is never weary opened his eyes again languidly and turned them on a sitting beside him z whose face was neither old nor young but which presented a singular combination of both qualities his high forehead white as marble had no to mar its and from under deep brows a pair of wondering wistful brown eyes peered like the eyes of a lost and starving child the cheeks were gaunt and livid the flesh hanging in loose from the yet the the master christian mouth was that of a youth firm well and sweet in expression and when he smiled as he did now he showed an even row of small teeth which might have been envied by many a fair woman only god who is never weary he said nodding his head slowly but we you and i we are soon tired looked at him and a moment s thought decided him to assume a certain amount of and with this evident brother of some religious order so that he might obtain both sympathy and confidence from him and from all whom he might be bound to serve ill and weak as he was the natural tendency of his brain to scheme for his own advantage was not as yet ah yes he sighed i am very tired very ill i do not know what has happened to me nor even where i am what place is this it is a place where the dead come the the dead in heart the dead in soul the dead in sin they come to bury themselves lest god should find them and crush them into dust before they have time to say a prayer like adam and his wife they hid themselves from	33
the presence of the lord among the trees of the garden raised himself on one elbow and stared at the pale face and smiling mouth of the speaker in fear and wonder a place where the dead come he echoed but you are alive and so am i you may be i am not said the quietly i died long ago people who are alive say we are men though we know ourselves to be ghosts merely this i place is called by the world a you will go out of it if indeed you are alive you must prove that first but we shall never come out because we are dead one never comes out of the grave with an effort tried to control the tremor of his nerves and to understand and reason out these sentences of his companion he began to think and then to remember and by and by was able to up the picture of himself as he had last been conscious of existence himself standing outside the g tes of a great building on the and the master christian bars to and fro it was a then and he was being taken charge of by the order this fact might possibly be turned to his account if he were careful he lay down once more on his pillow and closed his eyes and under this pretence of sleep pondered his position what were they saying of him in rome was buried and her great picture what had become of it how long have i been here he asked suddenly the gave a curious gesture with his hands since you died so long have you been dead i surveyed him with a touch of scorn you talk in like your master he said with a feeble attempt at a laugh i am not strong enough to understand and if you are a why do you talk at all i thought one of your rules was perpetual silence silence yes is silent but me said the i may talk because i am only mad something wrong here and he touched his forehead a little demon lives always behind my eyes piercing my brain with of fire and he me to talk he makes me say things i should not and for all the mischief he works upon me i wear this see i and springing up suddenly he threw aside the folds of his garment and displayed his bare chest over which a coarse rope was crossed and knotted so tightly that the blood was from the broken flesh on either side of it for every word i say i i gave a nervous cry and covered his eyes do not be afraid said drawing his robe together again it is only flesh not spirit that is wounded flesh is our great it us to eat to sleep to laugh to love the spirit commands none of these things the spirit is of god it wants neither food nor rest it is pure and calm it would escape to heaven if the flesh did not its took his hand from his eyes and tossed himself back on his pillow with a moan can they do nothing better for me than this he ejaculated to place me here in this cell alone with a the master christian stood by the bed looking down upon him with a sort of child like curiosity no better than this he echoed would you have anything better safe safe from the world no one can find you or follow you no one can discover your sin sin what sin demanded fiercely you talk like a fool as you own yourself to be i have committed no sin good good said then you must be with all the rest of the saints and st peter s shall be illuminated and the pope shall be carried in to see you and to lay his hands upon you and they shall shout to him tu es and no one will remember what kind of a bruised bleeding tortured broken down head of the church stood before the multitude when cried stared at him in unwilling fascination he seemed carried beyond himself it was as though some other force spoke through him and though he scarcely raised his voice its tone was so clear musical and that it seemed to give light and warmth to the cold of the cell you must not mind me he went on softly my thoughts have all gone wrong they tell me so have my words i was young once and in that time i used to study hard and try to understand what it was that god wished me to do with my life but there were so many things so much confusion so much difficulty and the end is here he smiled well it is a quiet end they say the devil at the gate of the often at midnight but he never enters in never unless perchance you are he turned himself about if i were he i should not trouble you long he said even the devil might be glad to make exit from such a hole as this who is your superior we have only one superior god replied he who never or sleeps he who troubles himself to look into everything from the cup of a flower to the heart of a man i who shall escape the lightning of his glance or think to cover up a hidden from the discovery of the most h the master christian i did not ask you for pious said be to lose temper yet too physically weak to contend with the of this singular personage who	33
had evidently been told off to attend upon him i asked you who is the head or ruler of this community who gives you the daily rule of conduct which you all obey s brown eyes grew puzzled and he shook his head i obey no one he said i am mad i walk about in my grave and speak and sing while others remain silent i would tell you if i knew of anyone greater than god but i do not uttered an impatient groan it was no good asking this creature anything his answers were all wide of the mark god went on turning his head towards the light that came streaming in through the narrow window of the cell is in that he can enter where he will and we never know when we shall meet him face to face he may possess with his spirit the body of a woman as in our blessed lady or he may come to us in the form of a child speaking to the doctors in the temple and arguing with them on the questions of life and death he is in all things and the very beggar at our gates who makes trial of our charity may for all we know be our lord disguised shall i tell you a strange story gave a weary sign of assent half closing his it was better this fool should talk he thought than that he should lie there and listen as it were to the deadly silence which in the pauses of the conversation could be felt like the brooding of a thick cloud hanging over the walls it happened long ago said there was a powerful prince who thought that to be rich and strong was sufficient to make all the world his own but the world belongs to god and he does not always give it over to the robber and this prince i tell you of had been the lover of a noble lady but he was and the false soon grow weary of love and so of her beauty and her goodness he her to death and thought no one had seen him do the deed for the n x a ot moonlight the master christian falling through the window just as the sunlight falls now see and he pointed to the narrow which lit the c ll while shuddering in spite of himself lay motionless but when the victim was dead this very ray of moonlight turned to the shape of a great angel and the angel wore the semblance of our lord and the glory and the wonder of that vision was as the lightning to and utterly destroy and from that hour for many years the murderer was followed by a ray of light which never left him all day he saw it flickering in his path all night it flashed across his bed driving sleep from his eyes and rest from his brain till at last by remorse he confessed his crime to a priest and was taken into a grave like this a where he died so they say penitent but whether he was forgiven the story does not say it is a stupid story said opening his eyes and smiling in the clear candid way he always assumed when he anything to hide it has neither point nor meaning you think not said but perhaps you are not conscious of god if you were that we see now should make you careful lest an angel should be in it careful why should i be careful half raised himself on the bed i have nothing to hide at this began to laugh oh you are happy happy he exclaimed you are the first i ever heard say that nothing to hide oh fortunate fortunate man then indeed you should not be here for we all have something to hide and we are afraid even of the light that is why we make such narrow holes for it we are always praying god not to look at our sins not to them and show us what vile souls we are we men who could be as gods in life if we did not choose to be devils here he suddenly broke off and a curious grey stole over his features as if some invisible hand were turning him into stone his eyes sparkled but otherwise his face was the lace of the dead the horrible of his aspect at that moment so terrified that he gave a loud cry and almost before he knew he had uttered it another t the master christian gazed at him and pointed to the said nothing but merely took the rigid figure by its arm and shook it violently then as suddenly as he had lost speech and motion recovered both and went on talking taking up the sentence he had broken off if we did not choose to be as devils we might be as gods then looking around him with a smile he added now you are here you will explain the addressed as remained silent still holding him by the arm and presently quietly guiding him led him out of the cell when the two brethren had disappeared fell back on his pillows exhausted what am i to do now he thought i must have been here many days all rome must know of s death all rome must wonder at my absence all rome perhaps me of being her murderer and yet this illness may be turned to some account i can say that it was caused by grief at hearing the sudden news of her death that i was stricken down by my despair but then must not forget i was to have been in yes the	33
thing looks suspicious i shall be i must leave italy but how bathed in cold perspiration he lay wondering all sorts of means of escape from his present surroundings when he became suddenly aware of a tall dark figure in the cell a figure muffled nearly to its eyes which had entered with such stealthy softness and silence as to give almost the impression of some supernatural he uttered a faint exclamation the figure raised one hand be silent these words were uttered in a harsh whisper if you value your life hold your peace till i have said what i come to say moving to the door of the cell the mysterious visitor bolted it across and locked it then dropped the folds of his heavy mantle and s and disclosed the face and form of with fear stared at him very drop of blood seemed to rush from his heart to his brain turning him sick and giddy for in the dark yet fiery eyes of the priest there was ai x wo m have made the tremble the master christian i knew that you were here he said his thin lips at the comers in a slight smile i saw you at the inn on the road to and watched you shrink and tremble as i spoke of the murder of you your face behind a paper you were reading that was not necessary for your hand shook and so betrayed itself as the hand of the with a faint moan turned away and buried his head in his pillow why do you now wish to hide yourself pursued now when you are an honest man at last and have shown yourself in your true colors you were a liar hitherto but now you have discovered yourself to be exactly as the devil made you why you can look at me without fear we understand each other still hid his eyes and moaned and thereupon laid a rough hand on his shoulder come man you are not a sick child to lie there as though seized by the plague what you you have done no harm you tried to kill something that stood in your way i admire you for that i would do the same myself at any moment slowly lifted himself and looked up at the dark strong face above him a pity you did not succeed went on for the world would have been well rid of at least one feminine would be genius whose skill puts that of man to shame but perhaps it may comfort you to know that your blow was not strong enough or deep enough and that your wife yet lives to wed you if she will lives cried lives ay lives replied coldly does that give you joy does your lover s heart beat with ecstasy to know that she twenty times more gifted than you a hundred times more famous than you a thousand times more beloved by the world than you lives to be crowned with an immortal fame while you are to scorn and oblivion does that content you a dull red flush crept over s cheeks his hand clenched the of his bed l she the master christian by a miracle for i drove the steel deep deep home i looked at him curiously with the air of a watching some animal under perhaps cardinal prayed for her he said and even as he healed the crippled child in he may have raised his niece from the dead but miracle or no miracle she lives that is why i am here why you are here repeated mechanically how dull you are said a man like you with a dozen secret in rome should surely be able to grasp a situation better lives i tell you i am here to help you to kill her more surely your first attempt was clumsy and dangerous to yourself but murder her reputation murder her reputation and so build up your own slowly turned his eyes upon him met them and in that one glance the two were united in the spirit of their evil intention you are a man went on watching him closely will you permit yourself to be baffled and beaten in the race for fame by a woman shame on you if you do listen i am prepared to swear that you are innocent of having attempted the murder of your wife and i will also assert that the greater part of her picture was painted by you though you were out of generosity and love for her willing to let her take the credit of the whole conception started upright god i he cried is it possible will you do this not for you no said contemptuously i will do nothing for you if i saw you lying in the road at my feet dying for want of a drop of water i would not give it to you what i do i do for myself and the church by this time had recovered his a smile came readily to his lips as he said ah the church excellent institution like charity it covers a mu l ta oi it exists o t a the master christian touch of humor its own sins it covers and shows up the of those who sin outside its is one of these her uncle the cardinal is another what of her cried his eyes sparkling is her marriage broken oflf broken oflf gave a fierce gesture would that it were i no she the church for the sake of she leaves the faith of her fathers and takes the wealth of her fathers with her finished i see i understand i the church has reason for	33
anger i it has reason i echoed and we of the church choose you as the tool wherewith to work our vengeance and why because you are a born liar because you can look straight in the eyes of man or woman and swear to a falsehood without because you are an and will do anything to serve yourself because you have neither heart nor conscience nor soul nor feeling because you are an animal in desires and appetite because of this i say we yoke you to our chariot wheels knowing you may be trusted to drive over and down the creatures that might be valuable to you if they did not stand in your way i such bitterness such scorn such were in his accents that even the being he addressed was stung and made a feeble gesture of protest you judge me harshly he began laughed judge you i not i no judgment is wanted i read you like a book through and through l book that should be set on nature s index as unfit to meet the eyes of the faithful you are a low creature and as i am myself i despise you for meanness greater than even i am capable of i but you are a convenient tool ready to hand and i use you for the church s service if you were to refuse to do as i bid you i would brand you through the world as the murderer you are so realize to the full how thoroughly i have you in my power now understand me you must leave this place to morrow i will send my carriage for you and you shall come at once to me to me m the master christian guest my honoured guest and he the word you are weak and ill yet they tell me here so much the better for you it will make you all the more interesting you will find it easier to play the part of injured innocence i do you understand i understand answered with a faint shudder for the strong and personality of overpowered him with a sense of terror which he could not wholly control good i then we will say no more brief words are best on such burning matters to morrow at six in the afternoon i will send for you be ready i till then try to rest try to sleep without dreaming of a he folded his mantle around him again and prepared to depart sleep he repeated sleep with a cold heart and quiet mind think that it is only a woman s name a woman s work woman s honour that stand in your way and yourself with the knowledge that the and her divine authority will help you to remove all three i farewell i he turned and unlocked the door of the cell as he threw it open he was confronted by the who was outside on the very threshold what are you doing here he demanded suspiciously i had a permit from the superior to speak to your charge alone and were you not alone returned smiling i was not with you i was here as to prevent anyone disturbing you poor mad he is no good at all except to guard the dead looked at him and noted the lack lustre eyes the helpless childish expression of the half young half old face his own guard the dead as much as you please he said harshly but take heed how you spy on the living be careful of the sick man lying yonder we want him back with us in rome to morrow nodded back in good he said then he is living after a ht he was dead in his sins as i am but you nt the master christian oh yes i will take care of him good care do not fear i know how to guard him so that he shall not escape you looked at him again sharply but he was playing with his long and smiling foolishly and there seemed no use in wasting further speech upon him so himself in his cloak he strode away and entered the cell you shall have meat and wine presently he said approaching the bed where lay the devil has given orders that you shall be well fed looked up and smiled kindly he could any expression at command and it suited his purpose just now to be all gentleness my poor friend he said your wits are far astray devil nay he who has just left us is more of a saint i s brown eyes flashed but he maintained a g ave and immovable aspect the devil has often us in saint s disguise he said slowly i tell the porter here every night to keep the gates well locked against him but time it was no use he has entered in and now we shall have great work to get him out resting his head on one arm studied him curiously you must have lived a strange life in the world he said that is if you were ever in the world at all were you oh yes i was in the world replied calmly i was in the midst of men and women who passed their whole lives in acts of cruelty and treachery to one another i never met a man who was honest i never saw a woman who was true i wondered where god was that he permitted such vile beings to live and take his name in vain he seemed lost and gone i could not find him ah ejaculated languidly and did you discover him here in this no he is not here for we are all dead men said	33
of force and resolution combined he threw off as though he were a mere child and went on singing et dies driven to utter desperation stood for a moment then suddenly catching sight of a rope hanging from one of the windows close at hand he rushed to it and pulled it furiously the top of the window yielded and fell open on its the smoke rushed up to the and still clinging to the rope shouted help help with all the force he could muster but the air blowing strongly against the smoke the flames in body of the chapel they leaped higher and higher and seeing the red glow deepening about him smiled cry your you will never be heard he said those who are busy with graves have done with life i you had best pray while you have time let god take you with his name on your lips and as the smoke and flame climbed higher and higher and began to itself about the music gallery he resumed his solemn singing dies ex pie but still shrieked help and his cries were at last answered the great bell overhead ceased ringing suddenly and its created an effect of silence even amid the noise of the fire and the continued grave music of the organ then came a quick tramp of many feet a of voices and loud at the chapel door laughed triumphantly we are at prayers he cried the devil and i are at prayers the master christian sprang at him once more madman show me the way he screamed show me the way down from this place or i will you find your own way answered make it as you have always made it and follow it to hell as he spoke the gallery rocked to and fro and a tall flame leaped at the organ like a living thing ready to seize and still the knocking and continued and still played wild music till all at once the chapel door was broken open and a group of pale faces in s peered through the smoke and then retreated again help shrieked help but the air rushing through the door and meeting with that already blowing through the window raised a perfect of flame which rose straight up and completely encircled the organ with a frightful cry rushed to s side and down clung to his garments oh god oh god have mercy he will have mercy said still keeping his hands on the organ keys and drawing out strange plaintive of solemn harmony he will have mercy be sure of it will ask him to be merciful has saved you from crime worse than death has you by fire will help you to find god in the darkness smoke and flame encircled them for one moment more their figures were seen like black in the columns of fire for one moment more the music of the organ thundered through the chapel then came a terrific crash roar of the victorious flames as they sprang up high to the roof of the building and then then nothing but a crimson glare on the seen for miles and miles around and afterwards described to the world by the world s press as the burning down of a in which no lives had been lost save those of one long insane who was supposed to have di v al s a in a fit of and oi a i d s ca m s s hi the had t m v the same night which saw the red glare of the burning reflected from end to end of the like the glow of some gigantic pagan funeral saw also the quiet departure of cardinal and his from rome innocent of all evil their escape was after the manner of the guilty for the of the were on guard outside the palace and one priest after another relieved the watch in the fashion of military but like all too cunning these pious the goal of their intention and bearing in mind the fact of the cardinal s simplicity it never occurred to them to think he had been put on his guard so soon or that he would take advantage of any secret way of flight but the private door of s through which had fled and the key of which he had thrown into the had been forced open and set in use again and through this the harmless with his young companion passed without notice or and under the escort of and ion reached the railway station by any message or messenger from the court and started for paris and london when the train moving slowly at first from the platform began to rush and finally darted swiftly out of sight breathed more easily thank god he said they are safe for the present england is a free country is it and smiled a little are you sure england cannot dispute the authority of the over its own sworn servants are you not yourself against the power of rome in great britain not only against rome do i contend replied my battle is against all who seek to destroy the s t the master christian true meaning and intention of but so far as it concerned we have a monarch whose title is of the faith that is of the faith against interference yes and yet her to rome ah my dear friend your monarch is kept in ignorance of the mischief being worked in her realm by the secret service cardinal in london is as much under the of the pope as if he still remained in rome and though he may be able to delay the separation between himself and the boy he he will scarcely	33
for the first time yesterday to some of the critics and in rome made a faint sign of assent her wistful eyes were full of wonder and anxiety well among them was a for america oh you need not look at me my dear i have nothing to do with it you shall see the letter your father received and you shall decide but the end of the whole matter is that if you consent the picture will be bought not by any private but by the american nation the american nation repeated are you really really sure of this quite sure i said and you must say good bye to it and let it go across the wide out to the new world all alone with its grand and beautiful message unless you go with it and show the americans something even more perfect and beautiful in yourself than the picture and you must be content to take twenty thousand pounds for it and be acknowledged as the greatest painter of the age as well this will be hard work but you must resign yourself she laughed for pure delight in her friend s triumph but turned at once to her father dearest father she said softly i am glad for your sake he folded her in his arms too deeply moved to speak and then as he felt her trembling he led her to a chair and beckoned to who had stood apart watching the little scene in silence come and talk to this dear girl he said she is not at all a good hostess to day she ought to entertain the bride and bridegroom here but it seems as if she needed to be entertained herself and then as obeyed him and drew near the idol of his thoughts with such hesitating reverence as might a pilgrim approaching the shrine of a beloved saint he turned away and was just about to speak to the d when a servant entered and said hurriedly desires to see cardinal there was a dead pause the group of friends looked at one another in embarrassment rose from her the master christian chair trembling and glanced instinctively at her picture and for a moment no one seemed quite certain what should be done next the d was the first to recover her self possession must not be here she said she is not strong enough to stand a scene and no doubt has come to make one we will leave him to you mr and to she withdrew at once with and in another moment was ushered in he glanced quickly around him as he made his formal salutation his eyes rested for a moment on and then he addressed himself to prince i am sorry to intrude upon you prince he said i have an urgent matter to discuss with cardinal and must see him at once i regret that it is not in my power to g your desire said prince with stiff courtesy my brother in law the cardinal left rome last night left rome i left rome exclaimed who gave him permission to leave rome was permission necessary asked stepping forward i did not address you sir returned i spoke to prince prince might well decline to answer you said were i to make him acquainted with the plot you have contrived against his daughter s fame and honour he would scarcely allow you to cross his threshold i stood still breathing quickly but otherwise unmoved plot he echoed you must be mad i have no plot against anyone my business is to the cause of and justice and i shall certainly defend the name of the great artist who painted that picture and he pointed to s canvas dead as he is his memory shall live dead cried prince springing forward dead make me sure of that and i will praise god even for your lying tongue if it could for once speak such a welcome truth i drew b d the master christian from the flashing eyes and threatening figure of the nobleman speak i cried again tell me that the murderer of my child s youth and joy is dead and gone to hell and i will sing a at st peter s i i will pay you a thousand pounds in masses to keep his soul safe with the devil to whom it has gone prince you are in ignorance of the facts said coldly and you speak in an anger which if what you suspect were true would be natural enough but which under present circumstances is greatly the unfortunate has en ill for many days at a on the he had gone out towards on a matter connected with some business before starting for and as he was returning he was suddenly met by the news of the of his wife and he knew nothing of it interposed grimly of course he knew nothing he knew nothing how should he know responded calmly the terrible shock threw him into a delirium and fever he was found in a dead and taken into the for shelter i saw him there only yesterday he paused no one spoke he was to have come to rome to day and a full explanation of his absence would have been given but last night the was set on fire thank god i said looked at him with an air of admirably affected sorrowful reproach i grieve for your injustice and cruelty prince he said some natural regret there should surely be in your mind at the tragic end of one so highly gifted one whom you had accepted as your future son in law he met with a terrible death the was set on fire as i have told you but the doors had	33
all been previously locked within it is supposed by one of the named who was subject to fits of insanity with the tragic result that he and perished in the flames there being no possibility of rescue then the is saved s v and you t the master christian should have a special sung for the world well rid of an damned and villain there was something terrific in the aspect of s face and threatening attitude and for a moment hesitated to go on with his prepared of lies his forces at last with an effort he made a very good assumption of his most manner prince i must ask you to be good enough to hear me patiently he said your mind has been abused and you are not aware of the true position of affairs you imagine with some few in rome that your daughter s husband was guilty of the attack upon her you are mistaken mistaken prince laughed scornfully prove my mistake prove it i i give you my word said and i also swear to you that the picture yonder which though offensive to the church and in its teaching is nevertheless a great of painting is the work of the unfortunate dead man you so greatly wrong liar and sprang forward himself between and the priest turned a livid white who is this he demanded drawing his tall form up more than before a servant of yours ay a servant of his and of all honest men returned i am one whom your church has learned to fear but who has no fear of you one whom vou have heard of to your cost and will still hear of glanced him up and down and then turned from him in disgust as from something by a disease prince he said i cannot condescend to converse with a street i q s this person who has most a t i house and society t o ea j st s s s a h the master christian cardinal who has left rome you tell me therefore my business must be discussed with you alone i must ask you for a private audience looked at him steadily and i must refuse it if in private audience you wish to repeat the amazing falsehood you have just uttered respecting my daughter s work i am afraid i should hardly keep my hands off you believe me you are safest in company paused a moment then turned towards he said very deliberately you can perhaps arrange this matter better than i can is dead as i have told you and for stating what i believe to be the truth regarding him i have been subjected to insult in your presence i have known you for many years and i knew your father before you i have no wish to either distress or offend you do you understand i am in your hands looked him full in the face my husband will answer you she said i am in his hands turned as crimson as he had before been your husband he strode forward with a threatening movement then stopped short as he confronted your husband so you are married then and he laughed fiercely married by the law and by the church a pleasant position for the last of the by your own act you have ruined the fortunes of your friends i would have held my peace at your will but now all rome shall know the truth the truth according to the convenience of rome the truth as to the in your interview with her yesterday looked him over with superb indifference my interview with the was a private one he said and if a spy was present he must prove himself a spy and we of the church do not accept a spy s testimony white with indignation sprang forward but restrained him the master christian patience he said in a low tone let him have his way for the moment it will then be my turn i my word is law in rome went on whatsoever i choose to say will be confirmed and by the greatest authority in the world the pope i am ready to swear that painted that picture and the pope is ready to believe it i who will admit such a to be a woman s work no one each member of the house of can bear witness to the fact that no one ever saw painting it but i know the whole story i was the last to see before his death and he confessed the truth that he had worked for his wife in order to give her the greater fame so that he was not and could not have been her then her must be found said prince suddenly and the owner of this the of the dagger with which she was must claim his property and holding up the in question before he continued this found i this traced i s servant admitted it to be his master s s mistress recognised it as her lover s a slight thing but an uncomfortable witness and if you dare to your lie against my daughter and her work i will accuse you in the public courts of in an attempted murder and i doubt whether the pope will judge it or a part of national to support you then i for a moment was baffled his dark brows met in a frown of menace and his lips with his repressed fury then still managing to speak with the utmost composure he said you will permit me to look at this dagger this proof on which you place so	33
s own private suffering began to out bit by bit how she had been in her own in front of her own picture by no other than her own husband who was moved to his act by a sudden impulse of jealousy and how that same had met with his deserts in death by fire in the on the and the excitement over the great picture became more and more intense especially when it was known that it would soon be taken away from rome never to be seen there again herself knew little of her rapidly extending fame she was in paris with the d who had taken her there immediately after s visit to her father she was not told of s death till she had been some days in the french capital and then it was broken to her as gently as possible but the result was disastrous the strength she had slowly regained seemed now to leave her altogether and she was stricken with a mute despair which was terrible to witness hour after hour she lay on a couch silent and motionless her large eyes fixed on her little white hands clasped close together as though in a very extremity of bodily and mental anguish and the d who watched her and tended her with the utmost devotion was often afraid that all her care would be of no avail and that her patient would slip through her hands into the next world before she had time to even attempt to save her and unhappy and restless wandered up and down outside the house where this life so secretly dear to him was poised as it were on the verge of death not daring to enter or even for news lest he should hear the worst one cold dark afternoon however as he thus paced to and fro he saw the d at a window him n at his heart he obeyed the i wish you a xv o x the master christian as she greeted him with tears in her bright eyes she must be roused from this i can do nothing with her but i think you might do much if you would i will do anything anything in the wide world said earnestly surely you know that yes but you must not be too gentle with her i i do not mean that you should be rough god forbid i but if you would speak to her with authority if you could tell her that she owes her life and her work to the world to god she broke off not trusting herself to say more ion raised her hand to his i understand he said you know i have hesitated because i love her i cannot tell her not to grieve for her dead when i myself am longing to take his place the smiled through her tears the position is difficult i admit she said with a returning touch of but the very fact of your love for her should give you the force to command her back to life come she took him into the darkened room where lay immovable with always the same wide open eyes blank with misery and desolation and said gently will you speak to turned her wistful looks upon him and a poor little ghost of a smile very gently advanced and sat down beside her and with equal gentleness the d withdrew s heart beat fast if he could have lifted that frail little form of a woman into his arms and kissed away the sorrow it he would have been happy but his mission was that of a friend not lover and his own emotions made it hard for him to begin at last he spoke when are you going to make up your mind to get well dear friend she looked at him make up my mind to get well i shall never be well again i you will if you resolve to be said it rests with you she was silent the master christian have you heard the latest news from rome he asked after a pause she made a faint sign in the negative smiled the church has with all due solemnity your picture as an inspiration of the evil one but it is better that it should be so than that it should be reported as not your own work between two lies the of the have chosen the one least dangerous to themselves sighed wearily you do not care neither nor lie has any on you she raised her left hand and looked at the of on it s ring i care for nothing she said slowly nothing now he is gone i a bitter pang shot through s heart he was quite silent presently she turned her eyes wistfully towards him please do not think me ungrateful for all your kindness i but i cannot forget i dear may i speak to you fully and frankly r as a friend may i do so without offence she looked at him and saw how pale he was how his lips trembled and the consciousness that he was unhappy moved her to a faint sense of of course you may she answered gently i know you do not hate me hate you paused his eyes softening with a great tenderness as they rested upon her who could hate you hated me she said not always no i he loved me once only when he saw my picture then his love perished ah my had i known i would have destroyed all my work rather than have given him a moment s pain and would that have been right asked earnestly would not such an act have been one of selfishness rather than sacrifice a faint color crept over	33
for was weeping the sound of her low sobbing smote him to the heart he whispered more to himself than to her have i hurt you so much yes yes she murmured between her tears you have hurt me but you are right you are quite right i am selfish cowardly ungrateful too but forgive me have patience with me i i will try i will try to bear it all more bravely i will indeed he rose from her side and paced the room not trusting himself to speak she looked at him anxiously and endeavoured to control her sobs you are angry angry i he came back and lifting her suddenly but gently like a little child he placed her in an easy sitting position leaning among her pillows come he said smiling as the colour flushed her cheeks at the swiftness of his action let the d see that i am something of a doctor you will g ow weaker and weaker lying down all day i want to make you strong again will you help me he looked into her eyes and her own fell before his earnest but t the master christian i will try to do what you wish she said if i fail you must forgave me but i will honestly try if you try you will succeed said and bending down he kissed the trembling little hands ah forgive me if you knew how dear your life is to to many you would not waste it in weeping for what cannot be by all your tears i will not say one word against the man you loved for you do not say it and you are the most injured he is dead let him rest but life claims you claims me for the moment our fellow men and women claim our attention our work our doing for the best and greatest while we can our duty is to not to ourselves will you for your father s sake for the world s sake if i dared say for my sake will you throw off this of sorrow only you can do it only you yourself can command the forces of your own soul be once more the guiding angel of more lives than you know of his voice sank to a pleading whisper i will try she answered in a low voice i promise and when the princess d entered she was surprised and to find her patient sitting up on her couch for the first time in many days talking quietly with the she had sent to rescue the poor from the jaws of a brooding which might have ended in madness or death with her presence the conversation took a lighter tone and by and by found herself listening with some interest to the reading of her father s last letter addressed to her kind hostess s picture is gone out of rome he wrote it was removed from the in the sight of an enormous crowd which had assembled to witness its departure the has described it as a direct inspiration of the devil and suggests the burning down of the in which it was painted as a means of the palace from the taint of and la demands the of the artist which by the way is very likely to happen the wishes that the ship specially to take it to am may sink with all on board all of which kind c t v t rt of the master christian the press have so the fame of the coming of christ that the picture could hardly be got through the crush of people their necks to get a glimpse of it it is now en route for london where it is to be exhibited for six weeks as soon as i have finished the putting by of a few home treasures here i shall join you in paris when i hope to find my dear girl nearly restored to her usual self it will please her to know that her friend the charming is well and very happy she was married for the second time before a in london and is now as she proudly writes well and truly mrs having entirely dropped her title in favour of her husband s but to her more valuable of course people will say she ceased to be in order not to be recognized too soon as the from the roman church but that sort of thing is to be expected society never gives you credit for honest motives but only for ones we who know also know what her love for her husband is and that it is love alone which all her actions in regard to him her chief anxiety at present seems to be ut s health and she tells me she to you every day for news is that true asked interrupting the reading of her father s letter does in all her new happiness actually think of me so much and so often indeed she does replied the princess d you must not look at all the world through the cloud of one sorrow we all love you we are all anxious to see you quite yourself again s eyes filled with tears as they rested on her friend s kindly face a face usually so brilliant in its animated expression but now and worn by constant watching and fatigue you are far too good to me she said in a low voice and i am most unworthy of all your attention d paid no heed to this remark but reading the prince s let me see yes here it is she to you every day for news which	33
is apparently the only extravagance she is ol v x ber husband have taken rooms m some n xv v the master christian of london and are beginning work in real earnest our good and his cherished have been with them into many wretched homes cheering the broken hearted comforting the sick and assuring all those who doubt it that there is a god in spite of and i have received an english paper which that mr will give one of his famous addresses to the people on the last day of the year i should like to hear him though my very slight knowledge of english would be rather against me in the comprehension of what he might say for all other news you must wait till we meet expect me in paris in a few days and ask my to rouse herself sufficiently to give her old father a smile of welcome my compliments to and to you the assurance of my devoted homage the folded up the letter and looked wistfully at you will g ve him the smile of welcome he asks for will you not little one she asked you are all he has in the world remember i do remember murmured i know and his wife are beginning work in real earnest i said and how much their work will mean to the world i more than the world can at present imagine or estimate it seems to be a settled thing that the value of great work shall never be recognised during the s lifetime but only afterwards when he or she who was so noble so self sacrificing or so shall have passed beyond the reach of envy scorn and into other regions of existence and development the finest deeds are done without acknowledgment or reward and when the hero or heroine has gone beyond recall the whole world stands its blindness for not having known or loved them better and his voice softened will also soon begin again to work like and in real earnest will she not raised her eyes full of sadness yet also full of light yes she said jl t ef into a g if i can o ol no vi i to love god the master christian d embraced her that is my she said that is what i wanted you to feel to know for i too have suffered i know you have and i should have remembered it said but i have been frozen with grief in brain and heart and i have forgotten so many things she trembled and closed her eyes for a moment then went on give me a little time a few more days and i will prove that i am not ungrateful for your love she hesitated and then turning gave her hand to or for your friendship he bent over the little hand and kissed it reverently and soon afterwards took his leave more light of heart and more hopeful in spirit than he had been for many days he felt he could now go on with his work part of which was the task of the money his father had left him among the poor of paris he considered that to leave money to the poor after death is not half such a christian act as to give it while alive lawyers and red come in with the disposal of wealth after we are gone but to g ve it to those in need with our own hands to part with it freely and to deny ourselves something in order to give it that is doing what christ asked us to do and whether we are blessed or cursed by those whom we seek to benefit none can take away from us the sweet sense of peace and comfort which is ours to enjoy when we know that we have in some small measure tried to serve our divine master for the full measure of content pressed down and running over which he has promised to those who freely give has never yet been known to fail and was given this happiness of the highest purest kind as with the aid of the wondering and reluctant he gave poor families comfort for life and rescued the sick and the sorrowful and all he reserved to himself from his father s large fortune was half a million for he learned that most of the money he inherited had come to the late through large left to him by those who had believed in him as a righteous priest of reputation and s conscience would not allow him to i he master christian take advantage of money thus obtained as he sternly told himself on false my father would not have wished me to keep it after his public confession he said and i will not possess more than should have been spared in common justice to aid my mother s life and mine the rest shall be used for the relief of those in need and i know if i told she would not wish it otherwise so he had his way and while his prompt help and personal of the distribution of his wealth brought happiness to hundreds of homes he was rewarded by seeing grow stronger every day the hue of health came gradually back to her fair cheeks her eyes once more recovered their steadfast brightness and beauty and as from time to time he visited her and watched her with all the secret passion and tenderness he felt his heart grew strong within him she will love me one day if i try to deserve her love he thought she will love me as she has never loved yet no woman can understand the true worth of love unless her lover loves her more than himself	33
i this is a joy my has not yet been given it will be for me to give with the entry of s great picture the coming of christ into london where it became at once the centre of admiration and general discussion one of the most singular religious marriage ceremonies ever known took place in a dreary out lying district of the metropolis where none but the poorest of the poor dwell working from dawn till night for the merest which scarcely pays them for food and lodging it was one of s and to serve his needs for a church he had purchased a large wooden structure previously used for the of mechanical such as worn out old railway carriages and every kind of lumber that could possibly anywhere in a dock or an engine yard the building held from three to four thousand people closely packed and when had secured it for his own he was as over his possession as if the whole continent of europe had to build him a cathedral he had the roof mended and made and the ground over to make a decent then he liad it painted inside a dark oak colour and furnished it with rows of benches at the upper end a raised platform was erected and in the centre of that platform stood a simple cross of roughly carved dark wood some twelve or fifteen feet in height there was no other in the building the walls remained bare the floor the seats no were asked for its maintenance no collection plate was ever sent around yet here whenever announced a coming address so vast a crowd assembled that it was impossible to find room for all who sought and here on one cold frosty sunday morning with the sun shining brightly through the little panes of common glass which had been inserted to serve as windows he walked through a packed and expectant throng of poor ill clad work worn yet en d t the master christian and men and women leading his fair wife clad in white by the hand up to the platform and there stood facing the crowd he was followed by cardinal and the cardinal wore no outward sign of his dignity he was simply attired in an ordinary priest s and his tall dignified figure his fine face and his reverend age won for him silent looks of admiration and respect from many who knew nothing of him or of the church to which he belonged but simply looked upon him as a friend of their teacher through the crowd almost unnoticed and it was only when he stood near the cross looking down upon the thousands of faces that a few remarked his presence the people had assembled in full force on this occasion an invitation having gone forth in s name asking them to be witnesses of his marriage and the excitement was intense as veiled as a bride obeyed the gentle signal of her husband and took her seat on the platform by the side of the cardinal on the left hand of the great cross against which leaned lightly like a child who is not conscious of observation but who simply takes the position which seems to him most natural and when the subdued murmuring of the crowd had died into comparative silence advancing a little to the front of the cross spoke in clear ringing tones which carried music to the ears and conviction to the heart my friends i have asked you all here in your thousands to witness the most sacred act of my human life my marriage by the law of this realm by the law of america the country of my birth that marriage is already completed and justified but no religious ceremony has yet been performed between myself and her whom i am proud and grateful to call wife to my mind however a religious ceremony is necessary and i have chosen to hold it here with you who have listened to me in this place many and many a time with you as witnesses to the oath of fidelity and love i am about to take in the presence of god there is no clergyman present no one to my w ea e ol tv except a cardinal oi e ci v est and friend but v vi t t v ns the master christian the cross alone stands before you as the symbol of the christian faith and what i swear by that symbol means for me a vow that shall not be broken either in this world or in the world to come i need scarcely tell you that this is not the usual meaning of marriage in our england of today there is much in the world but one of the greatest of the age is the degradation of the of matrimony the bland with which an ordained priest of christ to the blessing of god upon a marriage between persons whom he knows are utterly to each other in every way who are not drawn together by love but only by worldly considerations of position and fortune i have seen these marriages i have seen the horrible and often tragic results of such union i have known of cases where a man recognized as a social of the worst type whose ways of life are too odious to be named has been accepted as a fitting mate for a young innocent girl just out of school because he is a lord or a duke or an earl anything for money anything for the right to stand up and crow over your neighbours when an inexperienced girl or woman is united for life to a an open a creature far than the beasts yet possessed of millions she is congratulated as being specially	33
to be envied when as a matter of strict honesty it would be better if she were in her grave the prayers and pronounced at such marriages are not religious they are mere the priest who says those whom god hath joined together let no man put asunder over such is guilty of a worse than if he trampled on the bread and wine of christ s communion for marriage was not intended to be a mere union of bodies but a union of souls it is the most sacred bond of humanity from the love which has created that bond is bom new life life which shall be good or evil according to the spirit in which husband and wife are wedded the sins of the fathers shall be visited on the children and the first and greatest sin is bodily union without soul love it is merely a form of animal desire and from desire alone no good or lofty thing can spring we are not made to be as the beasts that perish though and delight iu ass i m t a ft the master christian our destiny in order to have ground whereon to practise their own vices this planet the earth is set under our dominion the beasts are ours to control they do not control us our position therefore is one of let us not voluntarily fall from that position to one even lower than the level of beasts the bull the goat the pig are moved by animal desire alone to their kind but we we have a mission to accomplish than theirs we in our union are not only responsible for the body of the next generation to come but for the brain the heart the mind and above all the soul i if we wed in sin our children must be bom in sin if we make our marriages for worldly advantage vanity blind desire or personal convenience our children will be on those passions and grow up to be curses to the world they live in love and love only of the purest truest and highest kind must be the foundation of the marriage love that is prepared to endure all the changes of fate and fortune love that is happy in working and suffering for the thing beloved love that counts nothing a hardship neither sickness nor sorrow nor poverty provided it can keep its faith unbroken he paused there was a slight stir among the audience but otherwise not a sound sat quiet a graceful like figure veiled in her cloudy white cardinal s mild blue eyes raised to the speaker s face were full of attention and still leaning against the great cross seemed absorbed in dreamy and beautiful thoughts of his own i should like went on with increasing warmth and passion to tell you what i mean by faith unbroken it is the highest form of love the only firm rock of friendship it leaves no room for suspicion no place for argument no cause for contradiction it is the true meaning of the wedding ring apart from marriage altogether it is the only principle that can finally and man so long as we doubt god and our fellows so long must corruption sway business and wars move nations the man who gives us cause to suspect his honesty the man who forces us to realize the existence of treachery is a worse murderer than he who j o for he has our soul he has push a i x os ix the master christian and has made us wonder and question whether in truth a god can exist who in his universe such a living lie i it is only when we have to contemplate a broken faith that we doubt god for a broken faith is an in the natural scheme of the universe a discord in the eternal music of the stars there are no no of accounts in the divine order of the law the sun does not fail to rise each morning whether clouds obscure the sky or not the moon appears at her stated seasons and her silver footed pilgrimage faithfully to time the stars move with precision in their courses and so true are they to their that we are able to the manner in which they will group themselves and shine years after we have passed away in the world of nature the leaves bud and the birds nest at the of spring the roses bloom in summer the harvest is gathered in autumn the whole marvellous system moves like a grand whose hands are never whose never fail to ring the exact hour and in all the splendour of god s gifts to us there is no such thing as a broken faith only we we the creatures he has endowed with his own image free will break our faith with him and with each other and so we come to mischief inasmuch as broken faith is no part of god s intention and when two persons man and woman swear to be true to each other before god so long as life shall last and afterwards break that vow confusion and chaos result from their and all the attending on a wrong deed whip them to their graves in these times of ours when wars and of wars shake the souls of too and with anxiety for themselves if not for their country we hear every day of men and women breaking their marriage vows as lightly as though god were not we read of princes whose low are a disgrace to the world of and who the of their wives in order that they themselves may have the more freedom	33
of men of title and position who even sell their wives to their friends in order to secure some cash or social advantage and while our law is busy night and day covering up ar c from and showing forth l t the master christian hard working poverty god s law is at work in a totally different way the human judge may excuse a king s vices but before god there are neither kings nor and punishment falls where it is christ taught us that the greatest crime is treachery for of he said it were better for that man that he had never been bom and for the traitor and death is not the end but the beginning of evils against the man who the life of a woman given to him in trust and love and then that life to misery all nature itself in opposition and disaster we as of the great play of human existence may not at once see among the shifting scenes where the evil is punished or the good man rewarded but wait till the end till the drop curtain falls and we shall see that there is no mistake in god s plan no left for breaking faith even with a child no permit existing anywhere to destroy the life of the soul by so much as one false or cruel word i it is with a deep sense of the exact balance of god s justice that i stand before you today my friends and ask you without any accepted or to hear ray vows of marriage she to whom i pledge my word and life is one who in the world s eyes is accounted great because rich in this world s goods but her wealth has no attraction for me and for my own self i would rather she had been poor nevertheless were she even greater than she is a crowned queen with many under her control and i but the poorest of her servants nothing could undo the love we have for each other nothing could keep our lives asunder i love and love only is our bond of union sympathy of mind and heart and spirit wealth and rank would have been but causes of division between us if love had not been greater the world will tell you differently the world will say that i have married for money but you who know me better than the world will feel by my very words addressed to you to day that my marriage is a true marriage in which no element than love can enter my wife s wealth remains her own settled upon her absolutely and always and i am personally as poor as when i first came among you and proved to you that hard work was a f am w it m rich in the possession of the n ma i the master christian most gratitude and humility i ask you to bear witness to the fact that this day before you and in the presence of the symbol of the christian faith i take my oath to be true to her and only her while life shall last here going to where stood he took her by the hand and led her to the front of the platform then he turned again to his eager and expectant audience in your presence my friends and in the presence of god and before the cross i take to be my wedded wife i swear to devote myself to her body and soul to cherish her first and last of all human creatures to be true to her in thought word and deed to care for her in sickness as in health in age as in youth to honour her as my good and to die faithful to her in this world hoping by the mercy of god to complete a more perfect union with her in the world to come in the name of christ amen and then threw back her veil and turned her face upon the crowd a face fairer than ever by the love and truth of her soul and the people gazed and wondered and wondering held their breath s her clear accents rang through the silence in your presence and in the presence of god and before the cross i take to be my wedded husband i i swear to devote myself to him body and soul to cherish him first and last of all human creatures to be true to him in thought word and deed to care for him in as in health in age as in to honour him as my good and to die faithful to him in this world praying god in his mercy to complete a more perfect union with him in the world to come in the name of christ amen then taking his wife s hand placed for the first time on her finger the golden wedding ring in the presence of you all before god i place this ring upon my wife s hand as a symbol of faith and loyalty i pledge my life to hers and promise to defend her from all evil to shelter her to work for her and to guard her with such tenderness as shall not fail i swear my faith and may god me if i break my vow i and without hesitation responded in her sweet voice the master christian in the presence of you all before god i take this ring and wear it as a symbol of my husband s trust in me and a token of his love i pledge my life to his and promise to the honour of his name to obey him in every	33
just and wish to defend his actions to guard his home in peace and good report and to surround him with such tenderness as shall not fail i swear my faith and may god me if i break my vow there followed a deep and almost breathless silence then spoke once more standing before the throng with by his side and her hand clasped in his i thank you all my friends strange and unlike all marriage ceremonies as ours is to day i feel that it is a sacred and a binding one your thousands of eyes and ears have heard and seen us swear our marriage vows your thousands of hearts and minds have understood the spirit in which we accept this solemn i will ask you before we go to kneel down with us and repeat the prayer of heart searching which i have said with you so often and to then quietly in one moment the vast crowd was kneeling and cardinal s aged eyes filled with tears of emotion as he saw all these human beings moved by one great wave of sympathy prostrate themselves before the simple cross where the wedded lovers knelt also and where alone stood like one who is too sure of god to need the help of prayer and thrilled to the heart by the consciousness that all the members of that huge congregation were with him in his ideal dream of christian union offered up this all powerful god most loving and beneficent creator of the universe we thy creatures who partake with thee the of immortality now thee to look upon us here kneeling in adoration before thee search our hearts and souls with the light of thy revealing holy spirit and see if in any of us there is concealed an unworthy thought or doubt or distrust or scorn of thy goodness we ask thee to discover our sins and to ourselves and so instruct us as to what is to thee that we may remedy these m i k give us the force and n a d the master christian and follow the way thou have us go and if our strength should fail us oh god to come to thee whether we learn by sorrow or joy by punishment or pity us so that we may find thee whatever else we lose let the great of thy truth be turned upon the secret motives of our hearts and minds and if there be one of us in whom such motives be found false cruel or cowardly then let thy just wrath fall upon the creature of thy love and teach him or her obedience and repentance we pray that thou wilt punish us oh god when we have that we may know wherein we have offended our dear father and equally when we have sought to serve thee faithfully may we receive thy blessing make us one with thee in thy perfect plan of good teach us how to work thy will in the fulfilment of peace and joy make our lives of use to this world and our deaths gain to the next and let the glory of thy love us guide us and defend us now and forever through christ our lord amen after he had ceased there was a deep silence for many minutes then all the people as if moved by one impulse rose from their knees and standing sang the following which had taught them when he first began to preach among them his of love and labour if thou rt a christian in deed and thought loving thy neighbour as taught living all days in the sight of heaven and not one only out of seven sharing thy wealth with the suffering poor helping all sorrow that hope can cure making religion a truth in the heart and not a cloak to be worn in the or in high and and where priests are and count the gains all god s angels will say well done i whenever thy mortal race is run white and forgiven enter heaven and pass the golden gate where spirits watch and wait to hail thy coming with sweet accord to the holy city of god the lord by the late charles ll d y k o the master christian if peace is thy and lore is and white charity walks by thy side if thou the truth without oath to bind doing thy duty to all mankind raising the lowly cheering the sad finding some g x e en in the bad and with sadness if there be there might have been in thine and in if conscience the that keeps thee wh e had uttered no voice to thy soul all god angels will say well done i whenever thy mortal race is run white and forgiven thou lt enter heaven and pass the golden where spirits watch and wait to hail thy coming with sweet accord to the holy city of god the lord if thou art humble and wilt not scorn however wretched a brother forlorn if thy purse is open to misery s call and the god thou is god of all whatever their colour or creed blood of thy blood in their need if every cause that is good and true and needs assistance to dare and do thou on through good and ill with trust in heaven and god s good all god s angels wiu say well done i whenever thy mortal race is run white and forgiven thou lt enter heaven and pass the golden gate where spirits and to hail thy coming with sweet accord to the holy city of god the lord the of th last eight line chorus sung by thousands of voices was marvellous such a spirit of exaltation pervaded the	33
been more active long ago and i fear i shall have but a poor account to g ve of my when i am called to render it up this is what troubles both my heart and my conscience dear friend you have no cause for trouble said earnestly among all the servants of our master surely you are one of the most faithful one of the most faithful and therefore considered one of the most said come let us go now and leave these flowers where the bride wishes them to be at the foot of the cross as a symbol of her husband s service let us go the cardinal has need of rest they returned to their respective homes and his wife to a little house they had taken for a few weeks in the district in order that might be able to see and to study for herself the sad and bitter lives of those who from birth to death are deprived of all the natural joys of happy and wholesome existence whose children are bom and bred up in crime where girls are and ruined before they are in their and where nothing of god is ever taught beyond that he is a being who the wicked and rewards the good and where in the general of utter wretchedness people decide that unless there is something given them in this world to be good for they would be bad like the rest of the folks they see about them the cardinal and dwelt in rooms not very far away and every day and every hour almost was occupied by them in going among these poor helpless hopeless ox world bringing them comfort and aid the master christian wherever went there brightness followed the sick were healed the starving were fed the lonely and desolate were strengthened and encouraged and the people who knew no more of the cardinal than that he was a priest of some sort or other began to watch eagerly for the appearance of the cardinal s the child that seemed to love them as they described him and to long for even a passing glimpse of the fair face the steadfast blue eyes the tender smile of one before whom all rough words were silenced all weeping but on this night of all the night of s religious marriage the cardinal was stricken by a heavy blow he had expected some misfortune but had not realized that it would be quite so heavy as it proved the sum and substance of his trouble was contained in a confidential letter from and was as follows my lord cardinal it has come to the knowledge of the holy father that you have not only left rome without the intention of your departure to the as custom and courtesy should have compelled you to do but that instead of returning to your you have travelled to london and are there en in working with the and who is spreading doctrine among the already distracted and of the poorer classes this fact has to be coupled with the grave offence committed against the holy father by the street to whom you accord favour and protection and whose origin you are unable to account for and the two things taken together constitute a serious breach of conduct on the part of so eminent a of the church as yourself and compel the holy father most unwillingly and sorrowfully to whether he is justified in retaining among his servants of the holy see one who so openly its counsels and commands it is also a matter of the deepest distress to the holy father that a picture painted by your niece and entitled the coming of christ in which the church itself is depicted as under the displeasure of our lord should be permitted to the oi i tv tv exhibition through the v s mv safe sl w the master christian placed his ban against this most infamous picture and all that the true servants of the church can do to check its influence will be done but it cannot be forgotten that your eminence is closely connected with all these events and as we have no actual proof of the of the miracle you are alleged to have performed at the holy father is reluctantly compelled to leave that open to doubt the of very the honesty of the mother of the child supposed to be healed by you and states that she has not attended mass or availed herself of any of the for many years we are willing to admit that your eminence may personally have been made party to a fraud but this does not free you from the other charges that of the late of which you stand remembering however the high by your eminence throughout your career and taking into kindly consideration your increasing age and failing health the holy father me to say that all these grievous on your part shall be freely if you will all connection with your niece and hold no further communication with her or her father prince secondly that you will break oflf your acquaintance with the and his companion the from the church of her fathers and that you will yourself at once and forever from the boy you have taken under your protection this last is the most important in the opinion of his these three things being done you will be permitted to return to your and pursue the usual round of your duties there to the end failing to fulfil the holy father s commands the alternative is that you be deprived of your cardinal s hat and your together it is with considerable pain that i undertake the of the commands of the holy father and i much desired	33
anger than that they are the result of a reasonable conviction or condition of your own heart and intellect in no way can i admit that my conduct has been of a nature to give offence to you or to the holy see for i have only in all things sought to obey the teaching of our lord christ upon whose memory our faith is founded your desires me first to cease every with the only relatives left to me on earth my brother in law and his daughter the daughter of my dead sister my niece you demand the of these bonds of nature because my niece has produced a work of art for which she alone is responsible i venture most humbly to submit to your that this can scarcely be called true christian justice to me for whereas on the one side i cannot be made for the thoughts or the work of a separately responsible ax t hand i should the master christian not be from my influence if necessary on the future career of those related to me by blood as well as to me by duty and affection my niece has suffered more cruelly than most women and it is entirely owing to her refusal to speak that the memory of her late husband is not openly as that of a criminal instead of being as now merely under the shadow of suspicion for we know that he was her all rome feels the truth and yet being dead his name is left open to the benefit of a doubt because she who was so nearly slain by him she loved and is silent i submit to your that this forgiveness and silence true christianity on the part of the poor child who has fallen under your displeasure and that as the christian creed goes your pity and consideration for her should somewhat soften the ban you have set against her on account of the work she has given to the world as a servant of holy church i deeply the subject of that work while fully admitting its merit as a great conception of art but even on this point i would most humbly point out to your that genius is not always under the control of its possessor for being a fire of most searching and quality it does so command the soul and through the soul the brain and hand that it would appear as if the actual creator of a great work is the last to be considered in the scheme and that it has carried out by some force altogether beyond and above humanity therefore speaking with all humility and sorrow it may chance that s picture the coming of christ may contain a required lesson to us of the church as well as to certain sections of certain people and that as all genius comes from god it would be well to earnestly whether we do not p in these days need some hint or warning of the kind to recall us from ways of error ere we wander too far but having laid this matter before your i am nevertheless willing to to your desire and see my young niece and her father no more for truly there is very little chance of my so doing as my age and health will scarcely permit me to travel far from my again if indeed i ever return to it the same statement will apply with greater force to v the master christian formed with him whom you call your is mistaken in thinking that i have assisted him in his work among the poor and desolate of london though i would it had been possible for me to do so for i have seen such misery such such despair such self destruction in this great english city the admitted centre of civilization that i would give my whole life twice ay three times over again to be able to relieve it in ever so small a degree the priests of our church and of all churches are here they preach but do very little in the way of practice and few like sacrifice their personal their daily life their sleep their very thoughts to help the suffering of their fellow men holy father the people whom works for never believed in a god at all till this man came among them yet there are religious here and teachers sunday after sunday the message of the gospel is pronounced to ears and souls and yet all have remained in darkest in hopeless misery till their earnest patient tender brother the so called came to persuade them out of darkness into light and made the burdens of their living lighter to bear and will you not admit him as a christian surely he must be for as our lord himself declares not every man that shall say unto me lord lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven but he that the will of my father which is in heaven and of a certainty the will of the father is that the lost should be found the saved the despairing comforted and all these things has done and is yet doing but i do not work with him i am here to look on and looking on toy regret my lost youth touching the miracle attributed to me at i have gone over this ground so often with your both by letter and personally while in rome that it seems but foolish to repeat the story of my complete innocence in the matter i prayed for the crippled child and laid my hands upon him in blessing from that day i never saw him never have seen him again i can bear no witness to his recovery your news came from persons at and not	33
of prayers and by teaching a lofty pure and practical faith such as our desired for us so that it may be a refuge in the storm a haven wherein all the world shall find peace this is for you and for those who come after you to do i shall not be here to see the change so wrought for i shall have gone from hence to answer for my poor d grant i may not be found altogether wanting in intention though i may have been inadequate in deed and so with my earnest prayer for your health and long continuance of life i bid you farewell asking you nothing for myself at all but a reasonable judgment and calm and which will in good time persuade you that it would de but a cruelty to carry out your indignation against me by me of that where all my people know and love me simply because i have a child and because having once him i refuse to desert him but if your mind should remain absolutely fixed to carry out your intentions i can only bow my head to your will and submit to the stroke of destiny feeling it to be my master s wish that i should suffer something for his sake and knowing from his words that if i offend one of these little ones such as this boy it were better for me that a were hung about my neck and i myself drowned in the depths of the sea between the church doctrine and christ s own gospel i choose the el between rome s discipline and christ s command i choose christ s and shall be content to e s a ot v r the master christian or poor as equally to live or die as my master and your master shall bid for we all are nothing but his creatures bound to serve him and where we serve him not there must be evil worse than death so in all still awaiting a more reasonable decision at your hands i am most holy father your faithful servant and brother in christ this letter finished signed and sealed the cardinal addressed it and enclosed it under cover to one of the at the who he knew might be trusted to deliver it personally into the supreme s own hands then stretching out his arms wearily he closed his eyes for a moment with a sigh of mingled relief and fatigue the night was very cold and though there had been a fire in the room all day it had died down in the grate and there were only a few little dull embers now glowing at the last bar the chill of the air was deepening and a shiver ran through the spare fragile form of the venerable as he rose at last from his chair and prepared to take his rest his sleeping room was a very small one adjoining that in which he now stood and as he glanced at his watch and saw that time had gone on so rapidly that it was nearly eleven o clock he decided that he would only lie down for two or three hours for there is much to do yet he mused this one letter to the pope will not suffice i must write to to say farewell to her poor child and give her once more my blessing and then i must prepare the way at home for myself and also for he sighed again as the vision of his own house in the peaceful old world french town far away floated before his mental sight almost he heard the sweet of the bells in his own cathedral tower which like a of delicate lace work always seemed held up in the air by some invisible agency to let the shafts of sunlight glimmer through once more he saw the great roses in his garden pink and white and cream and yellow over the walls and up to the very roof of his picturesque and peaceful home the white in the warm sun the ripe apples tv x boughs the simple xv x xv as the master christian to him with their little histories of pain and disappointment and sorrow which were as great to them as any of the wider miseries of more beset with anguish than themselves he thought of it all sorrowfully and tenderly his habit was ever to think of others rather than himself and he wondered sadly as he considered all the bitterness and hardships of the poor human creatures who are forced into life on this planet why life should be made so cruel and hard for them why sudden and unprepared death should snap the ties of tenderest love why cruelty and treachery should the hopes of the faithful and the trusting why human beings should always be more ready to destroy each other than to help each other why to sum all up so merciful and divine a being as christ came at all into this world if it were not to make the world happier and bring it nearer to heaven the ways of the infinite are dark and difficult to understand he said and i deserve punishment for daring to into wisely hidden mysteries but god knows it is not for myself that i would pierce the veil nothing that concerns myself at all matters i am a straw on the wind a leaf on the storm and whatever god s law for me that i accept and understand to be best but for many millions of sad souls it is not so and their way is hard if they could fully understand the purpose of existence they would be happier but they cannot and	33
we of the church are too blind ourselves to help them for if a little of light be opened to us we refuse to see he went to his sleeping room and threw himself down on his bed dressed as he was too fatigued in body and mind to do more than utter his brief usual prayer if this should be the sleep of death lord receive my soul and as he closed his eyes he heard the rain drop on the roof in heavy slow drops that sounded like the dull of a monstrous clock away the time and then he slept deeply and the calm and unconscious and refreshing slumber of a child how long he slept he did not know but he was suddenly by a touch and a voice he knew and loved calling him he sprang up with almost t v youth and saw standing the master christian did you call me my child yes dear friend and smiled upon him with a look that conveyed the brightness of perfect love straight from the glance into the soul i need you for myself alone to night come out with me the cardinal gazed at him in wonder that was half a fear come out with me those had been the words the boy had used to the pope the head of the church when he had dared to speak his thoughts openly before that man of all in rome come out with me now in the darkness and the rain asked the cardinal you wish it then i will come said nothing further but simply turned and led the way they passed out of the little house they inhabited into the dark cold street and the door closed with a loud bang behind them shut to by the angry wind the rain began to fall more heavily and the slight figure of the and stray he had seemed to the cardinal to look more lonely and piteous than ever in the driving fog and darkness whither would you go my child he asked gently you will suffer from the cold and storm and you said will you not also but you never think of yourself at all and it is because you do not think of yourself that i know you will come with me to night even through a thousand storms through all danger and darkness and pain and trouble you will come with me you have been my friend for many days you will not leave me now neither now nor at any time answered firmly and tenderly i will go with you where you will is it to some sad home you are taking me some stricken soul to whom we may give comfort answered not but merely waved his small hand and passed along up the street through the drifting rain lightly and as though he were a spirit and the cardinal possessed by some strange emotion that gave swiftness to his movements and to his will followed t m i a soul one or two forlorn x v s the master christian then a man half drunk and foolishly from side to side paused looking at them poor sad souls he said if we could see all the history of their lives we should pity them and not condemn who is it that murmured gently no one save man responded god nothing because in everything there is a portion of himself and when man to condemn and his fellow men he is guilty of likewise and his maker and that maker in his own soul the boy s voice rang out solemn and clear and the y fog drifting through the street seemed to the cardinal s keenly awakened and senses as though it brightened into a golden round that childish figure and it with a of concealed light but having thus spoken turned and went on once more and faithfully in a mental which to himself was inexplicable the venerable followed and presently they came to the plain and wooden edifice where and his bride had their vows that morning the door was open would always have it so lest any poor suffering creature might need a moment s rest and resting might see the cross and perchance find help in prayer do you remember said then when you found me outside the cathedral how the doors were barred against me this door is always he entered the building and the cardinal followed wondering and deeply agitated it should have been dark within but instead of darkness a soft light pervaded it from end to end a warm and delicate radiance coloured with a rose glory as of sunset and seeing this stopped seized with a sudden fear he looked about on either side the huge place was empty he and stood alone together as it were in the cold vast void before them the cross on its raised platform and below that cross was the sloping leading to it where lay of the and leaves and ca ts x rt fc the master christian flowers given to her by the poor and ik this empty desolate shed there was a sense of warmth and consolation and the light that it was as the light of heaven trembling in every limb the cardinal turned to his companion words were on his lips but they faltered and refused to be spoken aloud and gently touching him said follow me straight up through the centre of this place by the prayers of the poor and the broken hearted the light child figure moved the old man following till at the leading to the cross he paused here will we pray together he said and as he spoke a smile lighted his eyes and rested on his lips	33
a smile which gave his fair face the aspect of a angel of wisdom and beauty here will we ask the father which is in heaven the father of all worlds whether we shall part now one from the other or still remain together as he spoke a rush of music filled the air and the cardinal sank feebly on his knees overcome by a great wave of awe and terror which his soul for it was the same divine far reaching music which had once before his ears in the cathedral at kneeling he clasped his worn hands and in all the and confusion of his brain raised his eyes for help to the great cross bare of all beauty save for the flowers of s strange that lay at its foot and as he looked he saw a marvellous vision a dream of angels standing on either side of that symbol of salvation of angels tall and white and beautiful whose towering glowed with the radiant light of a thousand mornings amazed and awe stricken at this great sight he uttered a faint cry and turned to his child companion i am here answered the clear young voice be not afraid and now the music of the unseen choir of sound seemed to grow deeper and fuller and and caught up as it were out of all earthly and only made of spirit i v s l a a the master christian him to change its aspect slowly as though a wind should bend straight trees into an round the plain walls took on themselves a form of perfect beauty like swaying stems of flowers or branches the lines formed and through the shadowy semblance came the gleam of a light that never was on sea or land the dazzling light of thousands of shining wings of thousands of watchful eyes of thousands of dazzling faces that shone like stars or were fair as flowers the vision grew more and more beautiful more and more full of light and through of golden great lilies seemed to grow and blossom out filling the air with perfume and in their flow beauty the airy semblance of this wondrous place of prayer built by spiritual hands and like a far off echo of sweetness falling from unseen heights there came a musical whisper of the chorus sung by the poor all god s angels will say well done whenever thy mortal race is run white and forgiven thou lt enter heaven and pass the golden gate where spirits watch and wait to hail thy coming with sweet accord to the holy city of god the lord j a trembling seized the cardinal s mortal frame but the soul within him was strong and invincible with hands outstretched he turned to and lo the boy was moving away from him moving slowly but resolutely up towards the cross breathless speechless the aged watched him with straining uplifted eyes and as he watched saw his garments grow white and glistening and a great light began to shine about him till reaching the foot of the cross he turned and then he was no more a child all the glory of the vision beautiful shone full upon the dying body and escaping soul of christ s faithful servant the divine head crowned with thorns the divine arms stretched out against the beams of the great cross the divine look of love and welcome and with a loud cry of ecstasy extended i s xv ask oo the master christian master master he murmured did not my heart bum within me when thou talk with me by the way yearning towards that mystic glory he clasped his hands and in the splendour of the dream and through the of the solemn music he heard a voice the voice of his child companion but a voice g own full of divine authority while yet possessing all human tenderness well done thou good and faithful servant because thou hast been faithful over a few things i will make thee ruler over many things enter thou into the joy of thy lord and at that voice and in the inexplicable beauty of that look of love prince of the roman church whose rome called in question gave up his mortal life and with a trembling sigh of death and delight fell face forward at the foot of the cross where the radiance of his master s presence shone like the sun in heaven and as he passed from death to life the vision faded the light grew dim the arches of the heavenly temple not made with hands melted away and rolled up like clouds of the night into space the last dazzling angel face the last branch of heavenly flowers vanished and the music of the died into silence and when the morning sun shone through the narrow windows of that place of prayer only to the poor its wintry beams encircled the peaceful form of the dead cardinal with a pale of gold and when they came and found him there and turned his face to the light it was as the face of a saint whom god had greatly loved and of the cardinal s what of him many wondered and sought to trace him but no one ever heard where he had gone now when the cardinal himself has been laid to rest in the shadow of his own cathedral and the roses which he loved so well are growing into a crimson and white over his quiet grave there are those who wonder who that lonely child wanderer was and whether he ever will return some say a xv j	33
stared at their companion in amazement they did not quite understand who god was themselves being but poor little weak physically incapable creatures who were nearly always too hungry to think much about infinite and but they had a dim idea that whoever the unknown quantity in creation s plan might be it was very wrong to hate him dreadfully wrong wicked and alarming from all points of view after staring at angel till they could stare no more some of them put their fingers to their mouths and stared at miss what did think of it oh she was limp with horror her eyes had grown paler and more watery than ever she had clasped her hands and was looking at the reverend as indeed it was her frequent custom to do he meanwhile laid down the testament he held and surveyed the whole class with a glance of righteous indignation m am shocked he said slowly shocked and pained and grieved here is a child one who has been taught bible lessons sunday after who tells me she hates god what what temper stand forward angel come out of the class whereupon angel came out as commanded and fully declared herself like a small alien on strange soil she stood in advance of the other children her worn bursting shoes showing the dirty feet within her patched skirt clinging about her meagre little figure her arms still folded across her chest and her lips set in a thin obstinate line something in her b look and attitude evidently irritated the reverend mr for he said sharply those arms of yours directly she obeyed but though the offending limbs dropped at her sides the little hands remained firmly clenched now and the clergyman drew a deep breath and taking up his testament gave a smart rap with it on the desk in front of him explain yourself do you mean by such wicked conduct do you hate god s v angel looked steadily on the floor and her lips quivered because i do i she replied resolutely that s no answer and the reverend gentleman turned to his lady assistant in despair really miss you should not have admitted such a child as this into the sunday class she seems to me quite a mere insolent heathen i miss appeared quite crushed by the majesty of this reproach and feebly murmured something about a mistaken idea of character adding as a bright suggestion that the child had better be dismissed dismissed of course of course the reverend angrily she must never come here again such a bad example to the other children do you understand what say angel you must never come here again a i right said angel calmly don t care h angel angel moaned miss faintly i am so sorry to see this i had hoped for much better things from you your father j x j that s it interrupted the girl suddenly her breast heaving that s why hate god you teaches us that god does everything well then god is killing father father never did any harm to anyone and yet he s dying i know he is he couldn t get work when he was well and isn t enough to eat and there s no fire and we re as miserable as ever we can be and all the time you say god is good and loves us don t believe it if god won t care for father then won t care for god the words rushed from her lips with a sort of rough eloquence that almost carried conviction her way of reasoning seemed for the moment surprising and but the reverend mr was equal to the emergency you are a very wicked ignorant child he declared sternly if your father can t get work it is most probably his own fault if he is ill and incapable there is always the and if god doesn t take care of him as you say it must be because he s a bad man ji i angel s big eyes flashed fire yer lie she said steadily he s worth a dozen such as you anyway and with this she turned on her heel and left the her proud step and manner indicating that she shook the dust of it for ever from her feet her departure was watched in absolute silence by her startled companions the insulted and indignant clergyman and the pathetic miss but when she had fairly gone mr turning to the rest of the class said solemnly children you have seen today a terrible exhibition of the power of satan no one that is not possessed of a devil would dare to express any hatred of now remember never let me see any of you playing with angel keep away from her altogether for she s a bad thoroughly bad and will only lead you into mischief do you hear a murmur which might have meant either assent or ran through the class and the reverend his vexed brow took up his testament and was about to resume x his instructions when a little shrill voice cried out please sir want to leave the class sir leave the class echoed the clergyman what for please sir angel s gone sir and his way to the front and showed a small bright boy of about twelve sir i can t promise not to speak to angel sir she s my a laugh of evident delight along the class at s bold but a s stern look from mr rapidly checked this of feeling your and the good clergyman repeated the words in a tone of shocked offence john you surprise me john ragged and dirty seemed to care but little as to whether he surprised the reverend or not for he resumed the thread of his argument	33
when ye were born with gold curls all over your head and bright eyes that we said ye were like a little angel an so we named ye angel for the sake of the of it an the sound of it an ye must be an angel angel by name and angel by nature yes yes it s all right god gave ye to me an he knows all all the trouble an worry an fret he broke oflf suddenly and sat up straight in his bed while angel terrified by a a a oo ne strange expression in his face that she had never seen there before cried out sharply father father what is it he did not answer her his eyes were full of radiance and seemed to be looking at something his frightened child could not see angel he said presently in a faint hoarse whisper look there s your mother i knew she d come don t ye hate god my little he s sent her for me god s as good as good can be it s the that s wrong the world he paused his breathing almost stopped and he still stared steadily before him father father sobbed angel sinking on her knees in a passion of grief and fear oh father his hand wandered feebly to her bent head and lay coldly on her warm soft hair don t ye hate god angel he gasped love him an an he ll take care of ye then all at once with a rich manly ring in his voice such as his poor forlorn daughter had seldom r r mm ail heard he exclaimed a i right my i m coming starting up at the sound and chilled to the heart with dread angel gave one wild look at him and lo while she yet gazed he fell back heavily a solemn shadow crossed his face a shadow which passing as swiftly as it had descended left the features smooth and young every line of care and perplexity vanished as if by magic a smile settled on the lips and all was over with a shriek of agony the desolate child flung herself across the bed by her father s corpse unable to realize his death and out of the very of her despair sank for the time being into merciful late on that same evening sleepy and disappointed prepared to leave the corner of the alley where he had kept faithful all the afternoon and set himself to return to the dirty piece of on the floor in his master the s abode which he being an orphan accepted as bed and suddenly his eyes were attracted by a bright glare ness in the sky and hardly had he had time to receive the impression of this when the cry of tire fire through the street and set him running off at racing speed for the exciting scene of the disaster it was some distance away and as he ran he was quite unaware that another fleet footed figure pursued him no other than his angel she had crept out of her wretched dwelling poor child sick with hunger and with grief and perceiving her ragged boy friend waiting for her at the corner had come towards him slowly and languidly and had been just about to call him by name when off he had rushed at the pace described not seeing her whereupon she in the mere nervous impulse of the moment followed soon the two running thus were and lost in a great crowd of people who stood looking up at a wreath of brilliant flames that darted from the roof and walls of a small shop and dwelling in one the house of a general and dealer in oil and household provisions owing to the in n s nature of the goods kept in the store the fire grew fast and furious and though the engines rapidly arrived it was evident that very little could be done to save the building the owner of the place threw himself from one of the windows and escaped by a miracle without injury but when his wife with smoke was dragged out from the burning walls more dead than alive she struggled to rush back again into the heart of the flames my children my baby she screamed and save them oh save them let me go let me die with them steady mother said one of the pitying holding her arm in a tight grip tain t no use leave the little to god yes truly to god his angel for suddenly the crowd parted a little girl white faced and dark eyed with golden brown hair streaming behind her like a rushed through and made straight for the burning house there was a pause ness it then s shrill voice rendered by terror cried out mt s angel angel angel roared the crowd not knowing the name but catching it up and echoing it forth like a cheer in excitement for angel there s a brave for ye see she s got the baby and sure enough there at one of the burnt out windows with smoke and flame around her stood angel holding a tiny infant in her arms the while she looked anxiously down into the street below for some further means of rescue several people rushed forward holding an extended sheet which had been hastily procured and fearing lest she should be into by the smoke they shouted throw it angel never fear throw it down whereupon angel threw the child it was caught in safety and she the vanished only to again however at the same window with two more small children a of about two and four years of age at sight of which such a thunder of went up as might	33
the day mr s flower was not present but he ventured to remind the meeting that that was he thought in his mind at the time but no doubt the would correct him if he was wrong or what he had said if he was right the remarked that as to the land given by mr whole scheme left to mr a that gentleman had bought the whole of the property between er y there and that which belonged to the he had practically left it in his son s discretion to make a dividing line between that which he gave to the and that which he proposed to make over to the free library in that discretion mr flower s desire was to leave a space between there and the free library the of which would belong to the free the plain truth of the intended library but the whole garden would extend to the free library two rocks of stone being put merely to the boundary between free library and the in making that line boundary he thought that some ten or twelve feet from the free library would be the and the rest would be devoted to the garden so that there would be access round the free library upon the free library land then the next point had been partly answered by the there were possibilities of their requiring an extra attendant or gardener connected with the trust they as had nothing to do with the free library and that property but they thought it would be very desirable to have upon the a cottage that might be devoted to an attendant who would possibly have the care of the hot water apparatus for the library until such an attendant was required an arrangement could possibly be made for the to the free library to rent their cottage a good arrangement would be to have a tenant who could go to the library and perhaps be of use there and do the work of the two the they would make in giving this land to the free library j that they should retain the right of road to the back of building that they proposed to put up from the for the of coal and things of that kind would be one of the upon which they would j that land to the for the free library he that would be only fair and reasonable mr said if they built that cottage on their own land it would ultimately lead to another on the free land which if it could be avoided would be better he thought the should be understanding by which they could only have one erected the remarked that it was considered that any money by the of the should be upon their own could not spend money upon anything for the free library j or upon their land after some discussion in which the mayor said he thought the was safe in the hands of mr a d flower as representing the library and the as representing that trust the s motion was put and carried my first letter after reading this and that all the old houses the a school and shakespeare s were to he down and only two rocks of stone put merely to thb boundary between the free library and the shakespeare i wrote my first letter on the subject to the morning post which published it on february it was neither loud mouthed nor it merely called public attention to what i considered and still consider a national scandal order to i trust t which however the poet i the which the free library was to at the same a at on shakespeare s to the editor of the morning post sir several literary people and lovers of shakespeare have asked me to say a word of public protest against the further pulling down and of this unique old town by the of a brand new free library next to shakespeare s while fully the benevolent intentions of the wealthy american with whom free are now associated there seems to many of us a point at which even wealth should draw the line and considering the fact that the are by no means over anxious to possess a free library at all and that they would infinitely rather have some of their beautiful century carved house fronts now for the most part hidden under over them in the reign of queen anne uncovered and restored it seems a little hard that they should be forced to take what the majority of them do not want and that they should have to see money spent on what they deem for themselves wholly unnecessary according to present plans there will be considerable in one of the most quarters of the town the s cottage in the garden of the is to be pulled down as also the cottages next to it and historic street will soon become a row of modern antique buildings by which shakespeare s house will be but sadly and personally i have no doubt as to the excellent motives of all the persons concerned in this business and i them from all suspicion of in the putting up of a free library of the people but i know i am only expressing a very general and deeply felt opinion by saying that when there are so few old world towns remaining in england the of shakespeare should at least be guarded more for the nation at large than that a portion of its most historic street should be left open to the easy purchase of the mere yours etc on it will be plainly seen by the two foregoing of my statement that no protest i no movement whatever in the till i learned the own statement of what they intended to do it will be rather late in	33
the day now t tion of the to deny their own expressed intentions should they seek to do so inasmuch as those intentions were fully set forth resolved and carried at their meeting on wednesday february and were reported in their own words in the local paper of the same week after my letter appeared in the morning post a flood of correspondence poured in upon me from all quarters of the world as soon as the leading journals of london and took up the question mr d flower now mayor the office of mayor being the plain truth of the intended by mr g m bird wrote the following on february to the editor of the daily post s and the free library to the editor of the daily post mr a d sir as this question has been taken up by some who are evidently of acquainted with the locality it is apparently necessary to make a further statement of the actual facts act adopted by in january the mayor to mr asking if he would i w contribute to a free library in ui on on february he an open meet received a reply from mr from america saying that he would feel vote it an honour to give the sum necessary to erect the structure of a free library if the act were adopted and a site provided the act having been adopted on february by the town council it seems hardly accurate or fair to mr to say that he has forced the tow to take what the majority of them do not want with reference to the site in the first place it must be clearly understood that mr had nothing whatever to do with its selection the market hall was suggested but found too small for the purpose and it was therefore decided to build on land adjoining the school erected in in street part of this was bare space owing to a fire some years ago part was occupied by a china shop and owned by the there are three cottages standing between this site and the garden of s house in the autumn mr hearing that the were anxious to acquire the two cottages nearest the bought all three they were not easy to buy as for many weeks the owner of the two nearest the shop absolutely refused to sell having determined to and them as a tea mr then the land to the to be added to and i reserved as part of the i it having been previously arranged that a small portion of the land occupied by the cottage next the should be made use of for the library mr de it has been asserted these houses are evidently and associated with the poet who must have seen them day by day this is obviously all these cottages are of much more modern and the one part of which is to be for the library was built within living memory the china shop undoubtedly contains some old but this which has been pulled about and altered from then mr a d flower the matter was not and never has l een put to the vote of the by calling an open public meeting of s shop oak at on time to time has an ugly modern front and is in a perfectly hopeless state of decay to restore it would simply mean to pull down and to leave it untouched would mean to see it to pieces this view is borne out by several including one of mr the of the society for the preservation of ancient buildings who recently the property it is thus abundantly clear that this building must either fall down or s house be pulled down and it was therefore decided to the space f for the of the free library and the greatest care is being in planning a structure quiet and suitable in character and of the best possible design and materials what might have been the alternative if the ground next the school had not been purchased a very ordinary shop would have been built on the other side two cottages would have been converted into an up to date tea shop while the china shop would have tumbled slowly to pieces and then been flower mayor upon it is therefore perfectly clear that according to the summary of authorities own statements the old houses on the side of street were destined for complete the fact is st by the of the intended library with its sixty one feet of published in the on herald of august and its accompanying descriptive of its suggested splendour nd by the personal statement of mr flower of the committee at the meeting of held on february as duly reported rd by the letter of mr d flower to the daily post of february in which he to the opinion of one of the of the society for the preservation of ancient buildings who recently the this is a mr local correspondent for the society for the preservation of ancient buildings who thought so little of the value of a house which has stood more or less as it now is ever since shakespeare s birth that he did not even trouble to communicate the plan of the intended alteration of street to his society though he might have done so had he paused to consider or to remember the value of that classic ground to a large portion of the educated world it may here be mentioned in passing that this same mr who mi informed mr flower with respect to the old dwelling that to j restore it would mean to pull down and to leave it untouched would mean to see it to pieces has since i persuaded the plain truth of the intended the london to view the condition of things altered his	33
these two cottages were newly the front is of substantial but plain brick and all the timber is gone but it is not difficult to discover where the modern has been joined on to the old a door now closed communicating at one time with the adjoining room and proves that what are now two were previously one house and a house of some importance judging by its size a division of the property is also evident elsewhere the foundations as viewed from the cellar consist of ancient work of an early date there can be no doubt therefore that these two cottages are contemporary with shakespeare and some portions much older and that they ought to be preserved the comparatively modern ought not to condemn them considering how the difficulty was overcome in regard to shakespeare s house which had been altered and pulled about by successive owners before it was purchased on behalf of the nation as to the antiquity of the two cottages in question the views from photographs taken from the street and from the open yard at the back which have been published in illustrated papers give a very inadequate and idea the daily post here to a set of photographs published in the illustrated london by mr ward who described all the houses as mean brick sixty years old which wish to preserve comment is superfluous on this point it should be particularly noted that mr d flower s letter of tjie to the daily post on re stating the intended f to of the old houses was written when he must have been per press re f of the facts supplied respecting the property by mr joseph i ter hill a who is well acquainted with the on t neighbourhood and who wrote as follows declares the interest aroused on behalf of the old buildings in g street dear to every englishman as the house of s birth in view of the changes projected to provide a site for the new library is probably greater than at any time since when the nation waited with and alarm the result of the historic building being submitted to public competition at a london threats of its purchase at any cost for removal to america were and were quite consistent with the adventurous character of our american cousins it was therefore a great relief when on the th september mr knocked down the lot at a the plain truth of the intended little over and the nation became owners of the much altered but ancient fabric which john first purchased in and which remained with his descendants until happily the anxiety now evinced extends only to the of a few neighbouring houses which at that time notwithstanding long years of were much in harmony with the well worn buildings a very small portion of which a butcher s shop was the show place for visitors the larger part being used as a public house of somewhat meagre appearance the swan and at that period too the was crowded on both sides by small houses soon afterwards removed at the north west end were three poor and modern cottages standing upon what had once been john s garden and on the south east was an ancient property owned in s time by the family of king s and a small portion whereof had been purchased from john and adjoining this stood the which are now so much attention and which are deemed too lowly and humble to compare with the pile adjacent nor is this a matter for wonder for by an expenditure of money by a loving and care the has been restored to a faithful copy of the original and substantial home of william yet something may be said from the point of view of the to removal for however humble and insignificant they now appear these sur by time are the direct of those which the r and friends of john the men and women familiar to his son william in his days and in constant intercourse with him as he was daily passing up and down the street to the description of this group of street buildings we may john s large house and garden as no the house adjoining belonging to no the now in question once belonging to s neighbour no and the property adjoining it belonging to the no no originally one house had been purchased by john as two the part afterwards the from edward west in and the part forming the butcher s shop from hall in he had however been tenant of the whole before the first purchase the land which extended back to the the old coach road from to london was occupied by a barn and various other essential to the trades of a wool dealer and butcher the boundaries were eccentric and appeared to run into his neighbour s premises so that about the year at a time when he was in comfortable circumstances and not at all pressed for money he sold off land on each side of his property to on one side and on the other this latter or no before the year belonged to a william who like his neighbour occupied two houses and also like him was a with a trade for when on the th september at on he sold to edward of king s the two houses described as between the of and the of john he was a tailor and at others a of property at that time were very important transactions this particular deed is preserved in the it was prepared by walter who was not only a lawyer but also a parson and and had recently been master of the grammar school attended by william not only were john and richard both present but appeared to have taken with him two witnesses from king s the	33
formal proceedings included the giving possession to on the spot and as william was then eleven years of age he doubtless found means of being present it is however the property no which has a more than property no s ordinary interest at this time richard a blacksmith was owner and he had early in elizabeth s reign bought it from thomas of s land however extended behind it and in bought from him the land at the back reaching to the this deed was also prepared by walter and he and john called john shake were witnesses a remarkable circumstance connected with p this deed is that the seal used bore the w s it undoubtedly belonged to john and must have belonged to his grandfather or uncle and in after years his son william had the same device exactly on his gold seal ring the most interesting of the poet now in the the next property no had formerly belonged to the and passed to the it was always described as town land and in s day was held by william but before thomas the clerk to the was the it will thus be seen that the two next neighbours john and wood both combined a trade with their semi rural pursuits and each occupied two houses also that their neighbour richard held a house and which would front the street a smith s was always an irresistible attraction to a and the tailor certainly had the use possession and occupation of the house next to s until william was in his year who therefore can read otherwise than as a memory of street and and s description by of the reception by the people of the news of prince arthur s death in king john act iv sc ii i saw a smith stand with his hammer thus the whilst his iron did on cool with open mouth a tailor s news who with his and measure in his standing in slippers which his haste had thrust upon contrary feet told of etc the plain truth of the intended property he to shakespeare thomas husband of shakespeare s deeds in possession of the during the whole of william s life the worked at this but in they were sold to thomas who six years later married s and in bought s property no soon after edward having bought from john about ninety square yards of land lying between their houses and converted his property to an inn called by the sign of the bell of which a robert became the landlord john s death took place in and a year later william let the larger part of his and also some land he had recently purchased from to one the letting in s absence in london being probably effected by one of his three brothers or his sister living on the spot at once converted the house into an inn bearing the sign of the having hitherto been john s wool it was probably as a private house and its value would not be by the of the new inn the bell anyway obtained a for it in january and for some time considerable existed between the rivals in trade in both parties appearing before the in the following june when jane and were both bound over in to keep the peace which they probably did for remained at the bell until and a widow of was at the until the early history of the bell has a considerable connection with people for in the king s conveyed it to thomas of and of in trust for his edward a and his brother thomas both of hands worth in he made a similar deed of the land he had bought of john to william of and edward of in trust for his nephew in these and other deeds the property of john and william was always referred to and witnesses were taken to to give formal possession among these was henry a lawyer of who strange to say was himself born in the house of the at and he and his family were intimately acquainted with the subsequently a arose between the and of the owner of the land bought of and ultimately the entire property no was sold for to thomas the owner of no and also in the right of his wife owner of the which was in left to the family and remaining the property of the family until when they were bought by john keen a substantial of and after his death were sold through a firm of in when all the ancient deeds were retained as useless and lay hidden away for sixty years but were discovered in and as they threw much light upon at on the history of the they were handed over to the trust are here requested to note that the ancient deeds alluded to are in the possession of the and were to hand for reference as to the connection with the property had the according to the duties imposed on them by the obligations of their trust thought of examining them but instead of doing so they deliberately resolved as has already been shown and proved to entirely destroy property of which they held valuable deeds to its antiquity and connection with shakespeare after the communication made by mr joseph hill which was discussion received with professed incredulity and the letter of mr d pa r flower on february both of which appeared in the daily post the correspondence and continued in all quarters of the press it was however entirely kept out of the local paper the on herald so that the were more or less in ignorance of the animated nature of the discussion the letter from mr addressed to the times was not made known a plea for on to the editor of the times sir of the scores	33
of thousands of persons who have visited with mr curiosity and reverence the cottage of shakespeare in letter to the street on few surely would desire to see its immediate sur transformed or more than can be helped a plan is now on foot which if carried out must inevitably have this effect the plan to build by help of funds supplied by mr a new free library in the same street with the and about twenty five yards distant from it now it is plain that such a building however designed cannot fail to be the dominant object in the little street and to strike a sharp note of in almost immediate contact with the itself surely this vicinity should be kept sacred to shakespeare local opinion is much divided on the merits of the scheme and it seems very desirable that the efforts of those who are urging its should be backed by an expression of public opinion from outside miss mr and mr mil an american author who has been drawn to make his home in by devotion to the memory of shakespeare these and others have already done their best but a wider appeal seems to be necessary the exact position i understand to be as follows at the beginning of last year the then mayor of mr flower begged from mr the gift of a free library for the town mr with his usual liberality consented and subsequently he bought and gave to the the plain truth of the intended of the three cottages standing in the street between it and a piece of ground partly vacant partly occupied by a shop belonging to the town council it is on this piece of ground together with the site of one of the cottages that according to the plan which at present holds the field the new free library is to be built the alternative proposed by those that who dislike the scheme is that mr s gift should be where be there is plenty of room for it in connection with another building which is m p ancient and which the town already owes in theatre great part to the public spirit of the family of the ex mayor namely the memorial theatre this seems a perfectly reasonable and graceful suggestion as to the three cottages which have become by mr s liberality the property of the they are very humble and quite harmless as any reader not familiar with the site may convince himself by referring to the illustrated london news for december where they are figured although one of them has been proved to date from shakespeare s own day see a letter from miss in yesterday s academy there could be no great objection to their for the sake of the better protection of the itself from fire but in the minds of many there is the possible concern at the prospect of the little street being further altered by the of a conspicuous modem building associated with the names of modem and authorities might not the approaching gathering for the annual performances at the shakespeare theatre be made the occasion for a j expression of such concern by those who share iti i am etc british museum march how mr was led to adopt a different and less tone later much to his own subsequent annoyance will be shown later on the i found as i have said that the respecting the old houses f its in street was almost if not quite entirely suppressed in the on herald when however i understood that the editor of that paper was on the free library committee the position became clear to me in order therefore to let the know something of the feeling aroused by the proposed of the old houses i issued a small magazine for the festival season in april by myself and entitled the star a literary manual for the season of i also wrote an article for king and country which appeared in the april number of that magazine entitled the body calling attention to the intended in the light of the various events that have happened since the publication of that article i have nothing to regret or to in my statements therein put forth respecting the resolved destruction of the buildings proved of connection and interest the star contained an article on the of street this article being chiefly a re publication of the letters written on the subject to the press by various individuals including miss at on and lady and a of general press opinion just before the issue of these two magazine expressions of opinion the mayor the mayor of on announced that a public luncheon j honour of the shakespeare would be held in the town hall on some du the rd of april he called on me and expressed a very great desire that a i would use my influence to secure the presence of the american am and mr tree i agreed to do my best and succeeded so far as the latter gentleman was concerned mr the american regretted that the of his engagements at that particular date would not permit him to attend i shall betray no confidence by giving here the following eloquent passages from the two letters he wrote to me on the matter my countrymen fully appreciate and with your devotion to mr the memory of shakespeare which they claim as a precious part of their english and it would have given me great pleasure to testify to this at the coming had i been able to be present if anything could have persuaded me to my many engagements for that week and that day your earnest appeal would have had that effect upon the same subject the mayor mr g m bird wrote to me as follows we are deeply indebted to you for using	33
your powerful influence to the mayor s secure mr s presence and only regret other engagements prevent his ff coming i quote this incident merely as a proof that despite the street mayor asks me i was not as has been freely stated engaged in a personal quarrel with the mayor and i was on the contrary doing all i could to help them in making their festival a success the mayor asked me to respond to the toast of literature and art at the public luncheon on april and said he thought it would be best not to allude to the free library business in my speech i told him i had no such intention as i considered matters out of place at a public function the star the various correspondence and press opinions on the impending destruction of street came out in on in the first week of the festival it contained nothing offensive and nothing being so far as the street matter was concerned merely a repetition of what had already appeared in the press the rest of its contents were supplied by various including myself on the nd of april the eve of the shakespeare birthday tion a upon the star and myself as its editor a was issued in the town and sold freely by a who is the secretary and of the school and in that capacity is under the authority of mr the secretary of d flower the was written by a clergyman whose family i had in various friendly ways and to whom i had been mr a the means of financial and social assistance on the same day the plain truth of the intended mr change of attitude conduct of the shakespeare club under whose the public luncheon was given speech at the public luncheon against me were sold in the street but as i was fully informed of the sources from which these senseless attacks i paid no attention whatever to them beyond so publicly displayed an evidence of the lack of education and good manners on the rd of april mr paid me a personal visit he had however passed some time during the morning with mr d flower and i perceived at once that he had been persuaded to condemn the old houses in street at an outside glance without being told of their history as furnished by mr joseph hill or being made aware of the records concerning the property which were existing in the i had no time to go into the matter with him as he only arrived at my house within a few minutes of the hour fixed for the public luncheon at which i was required to speak moreover i fully recognised that for the time he was completely against my representations that i should have been invited to appear at the public luncheon at all under the existing circumstances of personal attack was in the nature of an ordeal to which i venture to think i should not have been subjected the luncheon was given under the of the shakespeare club of on of which i am informed mr d flower is or was on that same day the before mentioned on me had been published in an attempt to hold me up to contempt and ridicule before the visitors and representatives of the press by a member of tlie club therefore i occupied the position of a so called distinguished guest of the club publicly by a member of the club under the apparent of the of the club merely on account of my action in endeavouring to save street from complete and my speech was however expected all the same and as certain of the other had said a great deal about themselves and each other and very little about shakespeare whose the meeting was supposed to i spoke as i truly felt and my words were reported as follows miss in reply said the mayor had asked one of the least among the students of literature to respond for the greatest of professions one who was moreover altogether of the wrong sex to undertake such a responsibility for as most writing women knew there was a understanding among the lords of creation to the effect that every author worthy the name must be nay should be a he therefore as merely a she she found her present task somewhat overwhelming to thank mr for his able speech was easy but to say anything more to the point than he had already said would be to refined gold and paint the lily and to make any adequate response on behalf of literature on such a day as that and in such a place as the town hall of on would tax all the resources of eloquence ever found in a or mark for on was in itself the cradle of literature in its humble but world street was born the at on greatest of poets the most admirable of artists the wisest of philosophers the most imaginative of there were certain poets philosophers and before but he easily them all there had been and still were certain poets philosophers and existing since his day but they were only his servants and he remained supreme master therefore in for literature she responded more or less for which gave to the world its greatest literary genius from whose rich all other literature had since been largely derived speaking in a broad sense literature as they in their time knew it was merely an of several strong or weak variations on what the man of wrote three hundred years ago it was a ringing of the changes on the thoughts ideas and of our beloved the author mr william shakespeare and what he hath left us from the highest form of modern poem or essay to the latest times political leader they found echoes of shakespeare running through the and the	33
scale the modern or to the tips of his toes with satisfaction if his lines were compared even with the lines of shakes the was equally proud if he could bring his best descriptive article to a convenient finish with an apt quotation in order to fully how all was the influence of the inspired they had only to try and imagine literature without shakespeare there would be a blank indeed it would resemble an garden without its finest flower the english rose not only in great britain was that all influence felt and recognised but throughout the entire literary world shakespeare s muse had helped to inspire all europe s greatest literary men the of germany s famous poet told them how his were shaken to the root by the power of the mighty shakespeare the same power of the mighty shakespeare influenced after indeed germany was so conscious jf the fact that her noblest literature was founded on the genius of their on man of men that in almost every little town of her empire there was a shakespeare club or a shakespeare dramatic society it was in a manner somewhat of a reproach to them in great britain to that germany honoured their chief poet more than they did hear hear and if they would not be looked upon as ignorant and careless of their highest privileges they should see to it that the did not conquer them on their own ground otherwise perhaps in another hundred years or so instead of a bacon theory it might be asserted that was never born in on at all but was merely in germany laughter for nothing was so easy as to question and a great fame nothing was so simple as to find fault with what they could not do themselves and nothing was so delightful to a very small mind as to a very great one hear hear a sweep could if he liked object to the sunshine but he could not lessen one beam of its kindly si so it was with the the plain truth of the intended of the bacon theory their own powers were absolutely insignificant as compared to the magnificent genius they sought to nevertheless as she was speaking for literature she ventured to say that literary students all over the world would have long ago rejoiced to see a straight answer from on on that subject because they all knew that such an answer could be emphatically given were the necessary pains and care taken to do so and the mean inflicted on the dead poet could be nobly by his own native town applause let them hope that the world would not have to wait long before that was done literature if it be literature at all demanded as they knew the very life and soul of its workers but it would be an art not worth serving at all if its most faithful and gifted followers were to be accused after their deaths of the fraud and of putting their names to works which were not their own as she had said before literature was only another word for william shakespeare looking far ahead down the vista of the future when they who shared in that day s would be mere of forgotten dust she saw generations of men and women making their humble to on in that spirit of love and honour which cherished every spot every tree every small the great poet of the world might once have looked upon applause she saw millions of earnest and workers students writers and from all the shores of their empire beyond the seas who should come and tread the streets of that dear little town pausing wherever they thought or that shakespeare might have paused before them for time as counted by the influence of an immortal fame was nothing who lived and wrote so many ages ago was to day the greatest boast of greece of italy shakespeare of england whole had been swept away since their time had over into oblivion wealth power and tyranny had been as the shifting sand upon the shore but men who were all exposed in their day to the and of time th s wrong the proud man s stood fast above the ruins of and remained the chief intellectual and representatives of their several countries to those who neither understood literature nor took the trouble to learn how to understand it its power would always appear an mystery and applause but to those who knew how truly a great man s thoughts could mould a nation literature would ever be the highest of the arts and the pen the most urgent of weapons applause thus it was with a feeling of gratitude not to be expressed in words that she returned thanks for literature in the name of all literary workers thanks for that great world of beauty freedom truth and of which had given its chief beauty and of which he was sole king loud ai i p s me on herald at on some few days before this public luncheon took place i had seen the mayor of on two or three times and hearing that the destruction of the old houses was contemplated during the festival fortnight had earnestly urged him to use his efforts against such a he at first but finally consented to speak to mr flower was postponed and his explanation to a press who him on the subject was that the houses would not be touched during the festival week because it tlie mayor s was thought to fill street with dust and when to a there were so many visitors about besides and he admitted that there y j was dissatisfaction m some quarters the destruction of the cottages might wound the feelings of some of the visitors	33
when the festival is over however added mr bird the two cottages belonging to the on the site of which the library is to be built will certainly come down the remaining cottage that next to the garden is the property of the of the and will be spared for a while but will ultimately be pulled down also to increase the size of the garden curiously enough mr flower a prominent is of the of the trust while his son mr flower is the of the library committee it was the latter gentleman who first and practically approached mr on the subject of the library and he suggested as a site a little of land between the school and a larger cottage which the three which are now doomed exception was taken to this as the larger cottage is really an old structure from the year before shakespeare was born hence the other cottages were selected why people wish to save them said the mayor yesterday i cannot understand they are very ugly and there is nothing about them for they have not been standing more than a hundred years at the outside we only se to erect in their stead a very modest building see and one which will be far more in keeping with the atmosphere of the street to this view however there is very strong opposition even in daily mail by the above extract it will be again made plainly evident that the intention of all parties concerned was to entirely the old houses m street after the public luncheon on april i wished to speak mr mr before he returned to london but he told me he feared he would have no time to give me i thought this rather extraordinary as i had been the first to warn him respecting the intended in and had received from him the following letter dated march thk plain truth of the intended his first letters mr deserts his former dear madam many thanks for the information contained in your letter of the th i hope that by calling a little more attention to the flower scheme we may get it modified to the extent of having no new buildings put up in street yours very faithfully the letter which mr wrote to the times on march and which has already been set before the reader followed this letter to myself in another letter to me he wrote the only body in the country really fit to have charge of such a site is the national trust not a body such as the actual but such as they are we must try and prevail with them but after spending nearly the whole day of april with mr d flower mr on his return to london from me the following letter copy british museum london w c april dear miss i was very sorry to be prevented coming to tea with you yesterday but my time was taken up first making a thorough examination of the premises in street and next waiting to try and find my friend who was due at the red horse at six but for whom i waited in vain until six twenty when it was time to catch my train for london and now first let me congratulate you again on a speech delivered with a very remarkable beauty of voice and utterance for which i own i was not prepared it was admirable and next i have to confess what will not please you that having carefully examined the houses and gone into all the points of the matter on the spot i am no longer on your side as i was and regret that i should have taken part in the public discussion as i was for long unwilling to do without first hand study of the facts and conditions i find these to be much more complicated than i supposed the maintenance of the actual which i should prefer much more difficult and the mischief of the proposed scheme much less than it has been represented so please do not count on me in future as an active ally in this matter yours very truly signed it will be noticed that in this letter mr does not say one word about the associations and tradition of street moreover he says he was making a thorough examination of the premises that he carefully examined the houses and went into all the his points of the matter on the spot what is mainly in this episode is that he failed to ascertain the history of the old houses altogether a very few days after he had written this letter to me full proofs of the antiquity of the houses in question mistake at on and their connection with the shakespeare family were established the day after the public luncheon i received a letter from mr dr william edward a martin brother of dr william martin hon sec of the london shakespeare league with whom i had had some little correspondence relative to my becoming a member of the league dr william martin was much interested in the effort i was making to save the old houses and would have assisted the work more but for representations made to him that members of the flower family belonged to the league i have never been able to understand why undue consideration for a person or persons should enter into a matter which is purely national especially into such a matter as affects historical literary or connection with shakespeare and times dr martin was however seriously in his own intention to the strict preservation of street and did the best thing he could do under the peculiar circumstances of the case by referring it on to his brother he wrote me a letter containing the passage it is indeed time	33
that something were done to preserve the relics of that great era in which the immortal bard first saw the light a union of shakespeare societies would do much in bringing about this end i should add that dr martin himself visited on and personally the proposed site of the free library he wished to examine the interior of the disputed cottages but they were locked mr edward a martin s letter to me is here given in full the society president the right hon lord d c l f etc founded square london w april ith r secretary dear madam i have heard from my brother of the london shake invitation to league of the great interest which you feel in regard to the ie threatened of certain old houses in society at his desire i have communicated with our president lord with a view to his assistance in saving the houses if possible we hold our annual meeting and on may the th and i have asked his to say a word for the houses the matter is distinctly one which should have the of all our members as the preservation of objects of interest lies within the scope of our aims as will be seen from the heading to this paper in case you could find it convenient to be present at the meeting on the th i beg to send you a hearty invitation for that occasion and if you should be present i hope you will take an to bring the the plain truth of the intended the for delay matter to which i have referred forward i am madam yours very faithfully signed edward a martin sec to committee miss i accepted this invitation and on the th of may gave a short address to the society at square london lord was in the chair after hearing what i had to say lord and sir george who was also present agreed to sign a petition for delay it must be distinctly understood that delay was the only thing asked for the site not having been yet personally examined by london but as the houses were destined to be pulled down as quickly as possible delay was a plea that lord considered might very well be put forward being neither unreasonable nor at the meeting of the society i met mr s hon correspondent of the british association he was much interested and promised to represent the matter to the various societies which he happened to be associated with he kept his word and for delay were signed at the offices of the british association the society for the preservation of ancient buildings the london and association greatly to my surprise and gratitude as i should have hesitated to approach these societies on my own account the request from them all was for delay it has been asserted that they for something they knew nothing about because they had not visited the site or seen the cottages when it is that only delay was asked for it will be seen that the societies wished to gain time in order to have the site and reported on just at this point the letter appeared in the daily which is quoted in of this and which more than justified the exertions i was making to save what had been doomed to destruction the reader is requested to refer back to the passage indicated it will be seen that the antiquity of these houses had already been made publicly known and that their records were in the under the charge of the who were nevertheless going to them utterly as soon as i read the account given in the daily post i wrote the following letter to the morning post interest on of the cottages proved of shakespeare s day strange discovery at to the editor of the morning post sir those of your readers who have followed the press discussion concerning the preservation of old street in the aspect under which it has become familiar to thousands of from everywhere will no at on doubt be considerably interested to hear that the warning against has not been given without good cause the threatened houses next to the which according to mr flower of the committee of were publicly stated to be early and worthless are now proved by an impartial and correspondent of the daily post to be of date contemporary with shakespeare having also some portions much older and that therefore they ought to be preserved a finely roof of massive black oak beams centuries old some of the being from a foot to fourteen inches in thickness has been discovered with many other surprising and substantial proofs that these so called early are valuable and interesting old property of the shakes period mr is to be congratulated in having unconsciously made a lasting addition to the charm surrounding the an addition that is far too precious to be pulled do l or lost but that is bound to be carefully preserved by the who hold their trust on behalf of the nation it be well at this juncture for the public to reflect that none of the or members of the town council of appear to have thought until now of the of person ally examining the houses doomed to destruction before making and not one of them seems to have visited the they were all apparently content with merely glancing over the and echoing mr e flower s r n early but as the correspondent of the daily post tells us the comparatively modern ought not to condemn them considering how the difficulty was overcome in regard to shakespeare s house which had been altered and pulled about by successive owners before it was purchased on behalf of the nation as matters at present stand the proposed plans for the alteration of street can scarcely remain as they originally	33
were set forth and in face of the numerous being sent in to the town council on tuesday it is to be hoped that excellent body will grant a further delay for the consideration of public opinion much concern is felt for the quaint little half dwelling of proved date which according to the proposed design is to be actually swallowed up and built into the modern brick and mortar of the free library worse taste could hardly be imagined and the society for the preservation of ancient buildings is sending a protest to the town council with the esteemed name of philip f s a to enforce it the dates of this old house are all in order the and names of its owners are and as it saw shakespeare through it is so interesting that it claims every right to stand alone and be carefully su so that it may be seen by itself without any modern surroundings we may take it that mr himself would be one of the first to wish this for he has with the utmost good nature ex his indifference as to the site of the library and he the plain truth of the intended has also said that he certainly never gave any instructions to interfere with any relics he has trusted the local authorities who as is now proved have not till now personally examined the property under discussion had no arisen it would all have been during the festival fortnight from the british association signed by dr walter de gray f s a t f r c h white f s a and others from the london and institution signed by dr f s a charles m a f s a and others from the society for protection of ancient buildings from the london league from the club headed by the of and from the society signed by lord formerly sir john and sir george with other appeals are being sent to the town council to day in the hope that they may be induced during their sitting to morrow tuesday to listen to the public voice which for strict preservation of everything in that is even yours etc may lor some alarm was evidently excited among the g t the discovery by the press of what should have been well known to themselves mr flower of the committee and mr flower of the free library committee both rushed into print strange discovery in to the editor of the morning post mr sir noticing miss s letter under the above heading i beg to flower s letter o o o say that if in proceeding with the alterations of the cottages after removing the decidedly new buildings any portion proves of sufficient interest and value the of such portion will of course be considered but the details of removal and preservation have not yet been decided nor can they be until certain portions are exposed though we hope to find it possible to preserve some very interesting features the buildings have purposely been left in to allow inspection but it is impossible to follow the advice of every person as i said at the meeting of the nothing would be done without careful and earnest consideration the matter is quite distinct from the question of the free library yours etc flower s the hill ox may at on the persons in the matter would to be the the rather than any others as it is plain they should have been aware of the historical value of property the deeds of which were in their own charge mr flower wrote to the daily post thus to the editor of the daily post sir with reference to this matter it is of importance as you have mr a d s pointed out to understand that the question of treatment of the two cottages nearest shakespeare s house is one which has to be dealt with by the and is entirely distinct from the question of the free library site which is in the hands of the town council while referring to this latter matter miss has stated in the press that if the proposed alterations are carried out not a scrap of the original side of street as thousands of have known and seen it will remain in the interest of accuracy in so important a subject i must be allowed to that statement all who have taken the trouble to inquire into the proposal of the library committee know perfectly well that it is not intended to t a modern red brick structure but to j reserve all that is capable of preservation of the original old house a china shop and to fill up the ugly vacant space with a building in like character in fact the suggestion is to quote the words of mr to restore as nearly as possible to its form it is true that in order to carry out these alterations it will be necessary to remove the ugly modern red brick shop front which thousands of of this generation have known and seen but will anyone regret this mr has lately been restoring and to modern his beautiful old house at the corner of high street and street but this also involved the removal of a comparatively modern front the work was admirably carried out under the direction of mr e g and miss is towards the cost the suggestion of the library committee is to carry out exactly the same principle in street mr is the employed the only difference being that he is working in consultation with mr who represents the society for the preservation of ancient buildings why should praise be given to one restoration while the other is called another act of which nobody wants i the report of the library committee be submitted to town council on tuesday next i hope and think that	33
when the general public have read this they will agree that due consideration has been given to see of intended library before discussion this is the house which mr flower wrote of on as to be down in order to the space for a free library the plain truth of the intended sentiment and that the matter has been approached with the care and prudence which it deserves flower on may the daily post meantime commented on its correspondent s discovery as follows from the daily fo t monday may the eyes of the article which we published on saturday as to the ancient character m to cottages in street on that are open marked for destruction by the shakespeare has opened the eyes of a good many people who had imagined that the cottages were of no historic interest or value not a few inhabitants of who had taken not the slightest concern in the over the or otherwise of the buildings have now shown an interest in the matter highly creditable and on saturday several were seeking admission to the humble nearest the but the doors were kept locked and their curiosity went many persons have hastily condemned the cottages as only fit to be pulled down without even taking the trouble to look inside them they have simply judged by outside appearance and it would be curious to know how many of the who have come into possession of the property through the thoughtful generosity of mr and who have lately in the order for their have ever taken the trouble to go inside the cottages their intention was enough no doubt to increase the area of shakespeare s garden and thereby the distance between the and the adjacent dwelling houses as a precaution against fire but why all this anxiety as to a possible danger at one end when at the other there is a much larger dwelling house constantly occupied and quite as close to the as the cottages referred to the by retaining the two old in their own occupation can adopt precautions against fire in the same way as they have done at the a second visit made on saturday has confirmed our correspondent s view as to the antiquity of two of the cottages the roof and the wall are quite as ancient in appearance as those in shakespeare s house and it is hoped that before any act of destruction is commenced the will call in a competent to thoroughly examine and report upon the buildings it is an accepted fact that these cottages were part of the property a name intimately associated with the from the earliest times while we have the it sh be noted that some of j ess s houses where fires are often kept burning night and day are in dangerous to the at on also from a gentleman holding an official position in that they at one time belonged to s it cannot be too plainly stated that this matter has nothing whatever to do with the of a library the proposed site of that building is some little distance away and concerns solely the who may be to give attention to the earnest and sensible plea that green s house erected in now a china shop with an modern front should not be the of those who have the best interests of at heart and who are of the which upon them as the of shakespeare s and of his is that nothing should henceforth be disturbed or that was in existence in the poet s time and upon which possibly his eyes may have gazed at some time or other when the antiquity of the old houses in street was thoroughly mr proved and established i wrote a letter to ir him that by these buildings he had unconsciously secured to the a genuine bit of property and i asked for an interview with him he replied completely the fact of the discovery of the antiquity of the cottages which as he makes some about being an admirer of shakes one would have thought might have interested and pleased him he wrote that he had nothing to do with the site a fact i already knew and told me it was no use troubling to see him as he had nothing to say on the subject i again suggesting that if he lent his ear to one side of a it was scarcely fair to close it to the other and that as i knew he saw ir d flower constantly he might as well see me once finally he arranged to see me on tuesday may the th the day on which the town council met under mr d flower to decide the free library scheme my interview with mr took place at the hotel i am glad to say there was a witness to it in the person of a gentleman who was much interested in the preservation of street and who very kindly accompanied me the interview furnished me with considerable amusement because as mr did all the talking it was not necessary for me to speak the first few words he uttered concerning street showed me that he was in absolute ignorance of the locality of the houses and their history considerable fault was found with persons who for love of english tradition and association sought to save the old cottages and maintain the simple character of the street because so it was said they had not the site but mr was exactly in the same he had not the site moreover he said he did not care about the site but he offered the spectacle of a admirer of shakespeare who did not care about houses which the plain truth of the intended shakespeare saw and perhaps loved in his lifetime he preferred a library to those houses and plainly said	33
so he told me had paid twenty three hundred for the cottages and had handed them over without conditions i remember particularly his expression three hundred because it struck me as unusual he stated that if street were a old as he would pull it all down if any part of it were in dangerous to the in the way of menace from fire he was and is of course not aware of the dangerous of certain houses which belong to messrs flower and which are truly such a positive menace to the especially when fires are kept going in them night and day that it is astonishing the do not have them removed together with the modern antique dwelling on the farther side which is much nearer to the than the old cottages lately threatened with destruction and which has both light and fire being an inhabited house mr however did not wish to hear any explanation of the position or to receive any statement of proved facts he implied that shakespeare himself would most probably like a free library better than the old houses of his relatives and friends and this was the final impression i received of himself and his humour it was however distinctly evident that he had been strongly prejudiced against me by of both myself and my motives too strongly prejudiced to have the reasonable justice of a and impartial mind that is honestly willing to consider both sides nevertheless i was glad to have i seen him on the matter as i would not have it thought by the many who are interested in the preservation of all associations that i had left any stone on the way the national before my interview with mr i had been told by mr m p of the existence of a society for the preservation of historic and places of beauty or interest called the national trust i myself as a life member of this society the fee twenty guineas for this privilege i had hoped and believed that this society would certainly have come forward to save the old buildings in street however its members were generally although a piece of association might have roused them to action my point however in becoming a member was not to seek any outside assistance more or less given but to merely enable myself to make an offer with respect to the old house known as s china shop supposed to be the dwelling of thomas possibly own cousin to shakespeare offer of through my therefore i offered as an ff f member of the national trust the sum of one thousand pounds for s house with the further proposition to hand the said house over to the for ever to be preserved by them as an object of art and antiquity of the life and times of william shakespeare as set at on forward in of the shakespeare trust act ch iii on the th of may the town council met to discuss the free library scheme those present were fully aware that the whole matter had been settled by mr d flower and his at a private meeting which took place before they entered the public room of the town hall and that the discussion was merely an the report of the meeting is here the from the various societies were handed in and set aside a letter urging delay from the lord earl of was left an earnest and courteous appeal from j j f myself was treated as was a letter from mr m p discussion re of in street on result of town council meeting may town meeting after the and letters of protest had been read the town clerk mr r read a letter from an member of the national trust offering through messrs and son to purchase s house for the sum of one thousand pounds proposed that the clerk should reply saying that the property was not for sale it and the resolution was carried the minutes of the report of the free library were then read flower as of the committee said as mr s name has been mentioned in the report i think it only fair to quote his words in a letter to myself mr flower in which mr said on my first visit to my first impulse was to write then and there to the papers and acknowledge my change of views explaining the reason mr then went on to show how difficult that was without illustrations and closed his letter with these words did you not say there was to be a meeting to settle the next step to you are quite at liberty to quote my opinion the objections which naturally present themselves from a distance when the scheme of alterations is in general terms in great part disappear when the existing state of things is examined on the spot this visit to the site has changed his views and in the same way personal investigation in general with those who know the actual proposals has convinced that the committee are not working on the wrong line this question has been before the public for a long time and very for the last three months every facility has been given for investigation but yesterday it was announced that of protest were to be sent to the council by various important societies as one petition appears to be from the society for the protection of ancient the plain truth of the intended mr s his suggested buildings one of whose own appointed mr who failed to inform his society of the intended alterations is ns and as no officials of any of these societies have sought information from any member of the committee it is rather difficult to understand upon what foundations and facts these would rest we have now heard them read and we find them mostly dealing with	33
the matter of which is not intended by our committee in any way the question of how these arose was largely cleared up at a meeting held this morning when an interview was granted to a mr s of london this gentleman explained that he had heard an address on the subject of this delivered at a meeting of the society and had signed a petition there and that he had arranged for identical signed first of all by members of the society then by the members of the london and society and by some of the members of the society for the protection of ancient buildings and he told us that he had come to on behalf of these societies to present their he has presented these and said also that he was sent down or came down to obtain information as none of those who had sent him were in possession of the facts at first hand the committee gave mr all the possible information and in return they asked him his opinion on behalf of those societies he represented in reply to the questions put by members of the committee mr said a that it was evidently necessary that the vacant space should be built upon b that the modern at the back might well be converted into a reading room c that these together with s house would be more used as a library than as a shop or public house as heretofore d that in s shop for the purpose it should be touched as little as possible and that the present modern brick shop front should on no account be moved in short after a very friendly conversation the only difference between mr s ideas and those of the committee was practically in the details of restoration work in questions of this kind there is room for immense variety of opinion and it is impossible to please everybody for example mr would like to see the whole of street bought up and restored as in times while mr as representing these societies almost exactly the reverse it appears then that the general scheme of the committee meets with the approval of those who have examined on the spot and if in working out the details of restoration these societies will assist us their help will i have no doubt be most gladly welcomed by this council here it will be seen that mr flower his own statement of see it is now in process of complete alteration at on i beg therefore to move that the general scheme as in the committee s report be approved by the council winter said i feel somewhat in dealing with this matter as i have not had a education and that seems to be a necessary thing when talking of ancient buildings but i second the motion with much pleasure because i feel i am the unanimous views of the council when i say that the free library committee should be heartily supported we feel complete confidence in what they have done and in what they propose to do not only because they are practical men themselves but because they are working in consultation with an eminent as flower has said he is bound to see that all the ancient features in s house are carefully preserved i need say no more small wood in supporting the resolution said mr flower has well expressed the wishes of the committee and also of the council who to day will express it by vote i think we shall be able to erect such a building as will give satisfaction to every variety of critic both of and also all over the world itself said i should like to support the proposition if only to show the sympathy this council has in the difficulties the library have already met with and further to show that the council still have unbounded confidence in them said i should like to express my conviction of that the committee have done the very best they could and i hope they j will be supported in the matter with regard to the offer to purchase s house i may say that though we may be hard up in yet we are not open to hear hear i hope the will take a note of this and let it reach the eyes of those who made it said while supporting the resolution i think we are doing the right thing in accepting the opinions and advice of those representing the learned societies mr flower has mentioned i think that step would be more likely to satisfy the world generally than anything we have yet done the mayor bird said before putting the resolution to the meeting i should like to say that we all thoroughly appreciate the interest which the literary and dramatic world appear to take in and associations as by these of which we have this day been the we cannot their importance for we recognise that shakespeare and shakespeare s town have a world wide interest equally therefore with the i believe and know that every member of this council is anxious to preserve and where practicable to restore everything of an ancient historical or character in and around while they have everything to the opinions and reports of the learned societies have been almost if not entirely disregarded the plain truth of the intended mr a d flower s to pick the brains of the societies lose and nothing whatever to gain by destroying ancient in the birth town of our great poet i hope and feel therefore that the vote you are about to give will be after full consideration of the whole circumstances of the case and with perhaps rather a heavier feeling of responsibility than usual if you thoroughly believe in the proposed action of the library committee you will	33
of course their report if on the other hand you feel that delay is advisable or that the site we have selected should be changed all you have to do is to refer it back but in any case i hope and feel that there will be a substantial vote one that will enable the library committee in the future to carry out whatever you dictate with the fullest confidence confidence in their work and confident that they are doing what is your wish and what i hope will prove to be the wish of the world at large i now put the report for confirmation proposed by the flower and by winter those in favour kindly hold up their hands that i may see who they are carried flower said i should like to say that i feel sure my committee will be only too glad to pick the brains of these societies in carrying out any details of the scheme the principle of which they have established to day i was in london and the result of the town council meeting was conveyed to me in a letter from the in which he regretted the matter had not been carried more satisfactorily to the views of myself and those interested with me in the preservation of street on the morning after the meeting namely on the th of may at five o clock before the town was awake and stirring of the houses in street fortunately the more roofs stripped modem ones were stripped of their roofs and the was commenced co ages meanwhile mr finding himself quoted by mr flower at the town council meeting and considerably annoyed that he should have condemned the ancient cottages as early when they were proved wrote the following letter to the times mr goes hack to his first the proposed alterations at on to the editor of the times sir last march you were good enough to print a letter from me on this subject pleading for a of certain plans entertained by the town council of on or at least for the delay of their execution by a report which appears in your issue this morning i see that at a meeting of that body yesterday i was quoted as having since then entirely changed my mind on the subject that i have partly changed it is true will your readers bear with me while i explain in as few words as i can the reasons of the change on the general principle that in a case of this kind the maintenance of the is to be desired and the intrusion of new features and new associations to be avoided it is iy i a s shop side wn l he by library hy k s shop at k on tiie front work on the old wn l be hidden ik free library at on needless to say i stand firm and on the information before me when i wrote the case for applying this principle to the street site seemed very strong but now that i have visited and carefully examined the site i am convinced that to keep things as they are is far more difficult than could be from a distance and that the objections to the proposed alterations are less grave there are two parts to the scheme which are quite independent of each other and should be kept quite separate in the reader s mind one concerns the row of four cottages adjoining the garden the other concerns a china shop on the last of the four together with a vacant space or gap next beyond it the four cottages are of the humble decently harmless red walled and red which one is always glad to see preserved in old towns or villages for fear of their being replaced by worse in none of their external features certainly can they be more than one hundred years old at the outside they are now by the gift of mr the pro of the and it is proposed to pull them down and throw the ground they y into the lace garden the chief motive in favour of this course is the better protection of the itself from fire the chief motive against it is or was until a few days ago the general of not disturbing modest buildings to which people have got accustomed during the best part of a century and this motive has now been by the alleged discovery in two of the cottages of as old as the century had these cottages not been acquired for the trust one of them at was about to be and turned into a of some show it was a good thing to stop this it will also be a good thing to the as much as possible from the risks of fire whether to this end it will really be best to pull the cottages down or to keep standing even if two of them at which are stated to contain really ancient work is a matter on the are id to take and no doubt take the moat careful advice the other matter is a more complicated one that namely of the china shop which on to the row of cottages and the gap of vacant ground the site of a burnt out house next to it the china shop belongs to the town council the gap has been bought by mr flower and it has been decided to build the new library on the joint site something had to be done the gap at present shows an ugly back view of one wing of the school and it was desirable to fill it the china shop is of real interest by evidence from before shakespeare s birth and containing several preserved interior portions of its ancient timber but it has been pulled about and confused with	33
later additions both internal and external the ancient timber front has been destroyed and wholly replaced not merely as often happens by a late front in red brick and the whole structure is in a the plain truth of the intended tumble down condition to let it perish would be a sin to and preserve what is old and interesting in any case much change and of what now exists the plan decided on is to such a change and by the ancient parts when they shall have been disengaged in a new building designed to cover both the site of the house itself and the gap next it and to be used for the purpose of the library the question whether this course is desirable or not can be argued on grounds both practical and sentimental sharing the instinctive sentiment which has been so vehemently expressed against it i find it difficult after studying all the conditions on the spot to see what alternative treatment would not be open to at least equal practical objections provided always that the work is carried out under the most cautious and experienced direction mr flower s sketch plan as exhibited in the china shop window during the week shows an extremely modest timber and plaster front of two low quite in keeping with the earlier architecture of the place if it were certain both that the interior ancient work would be preserved to the utmost and that the new front would be no more than mr flower s sketch cultivated opinion might i should say though without enthusiasm in the scheme but there are sad already in the street particularly in the shape of some modern would be shops over the way and in a matter which interests in some degree the whole world the local authorities should certainly carry out the promise implied in mr a flower s reported speech of yesterday and take into their counsels representatives of such bodies as the society of the royal of british the national trust and the society for the protection of ancient buildings i am etc as a matter of fact the advice of the has been more or less set aside and s shop which as mr says is of real interest is now in process of to the uses of a public library where there may be some danger of fire mr s of the british association was extremely indignant at the hasty measures for destruction which had been adopted on the morning after the meeting of the town council numerous other persons were equally indignant with him including the earl of lord and many more it was decided after careful consultation of the act that it might be possible to bring an action against the for breach of trust and counsel s advice was taken on the subject the morning post of may gave the following letter dealing with mr flower s statement respecting the ancient cottages a letter which though helps to much in a few words v b o s j j i j n a p r ij i i i s s ms j i i ri n s e e i ac a f a js lit p s s di at on strange discovery at to the et of the morning post sir under the above heading i have just read a letter from mr flower of the committee of shakespeare s i am not sufficiently with the and of raging in on to say whether the of shakespeare s have neglected their national duty or whether they have not i can however quite understand the of temper of any set of gentlemen being considerably upset on being told as they have been by miss as she alone can say it that they are not fit for their duties mr flower must remember as of such a responsible trust that he is a public person and is open to criticism and he has no right in fair and gentlemanly to call anyone an person as he does in his letter of the simply because he or she objects to the way in which he and other members of the committee have discharged their national trust when the of the committee takes to a critic it looks very much as if the day was going against the supposed of shakespeare s yours etc i a i may venture to put it plainly to the reader as to whether the committee of a national trust under act of parliament entitled the shakespeare s trust act are justified in deciding to entirely and clear away the s cottage which was in existence when the act was passed without any consideration as to whether they had the right to do so see their meeting on and being in such a condition of ignorance as to their position that an appeal was made to sir martin on the subject result being according to a statement made by mr d flower to lord at one time it was intended to set back the s cottage but sir martin on being consulted advised the that he considered they had not power to do this secondly in deciding to entirely and clear away genuine cottages formerly one house and the property of shakespeare s while holding under their care and in their for the nation the ancient deeds the said property for the act of clearly states that it shall be lawful for the to acquire from time to time if and as opportunity may arise any houses or lands which are of national interest as being associated with the life of william shakespeare the plain truth of the intended in deciding to alter and for the purposes of a free library the old house known as s shop of the time and proved to have been	33
built in according to the and in refusing to consider with the aid of the many of the members of which are the offer of xi made to them for the purchase of the said house in order that it should be handed over to them as part of the trust the act clearly stating that it shall be lawful for the to receive of land buildings money books pictures etc and objects of art or antiquity of the life times and works of william shakespeare in no part of the act is it stated that the have power to refuse such but s shop being property the including those members who are refused to sell while the including those members who are of the referred the matter to the i e mostly themselves who repeated their own refusal thus it will be seen how the and the worked the matter together though as the earl of expressed it a and a member of the ought to weigh well his position relative to both these so that they do not conflict it has been very reasonably suggested by the many distinguished individuals who have interested themselves in the matter that under the foregoing circumstances a new act should be devised for the shakespeare trust whereby no member of the shall be a inasmuch as convenience has been considered more by the town council of than the public appeal for a higher estimate of national sentiment and feeling concerning the few remaining genuine associations which are invaluable to great britain and to the world on the th of may the day before the meeting of the town council to decide on the free library scheme and before my interview with mr i had received the following from mr president of the o p old club in view of the indignation roused by the action of the council in the birth street of shakespeare could you consent to address a meeting of the o p club an enthusiastic body of and first over eight hundred next sunday evening or the following sunday as president should feel greatly honoured if you could consent i a reply accepting the invitation and determined to set the whole matter before the o p club in a fresh to save s house the dwelling for i felt that i had for the immediate moment saved the other threatened bit of property i e the two cottages which were at on formerly the house of shakespeare s mr thereupon announced in the press that i would speak on the national trust at on the following sunday the th i gave my address on the national trust at on to the o p club in the hall of the london on sunday evening may my view of the street position was very generally by my audience and in the reports given by the press the general tone of feeling was the same i e that street should not be altered in its long familiar aspect mr flower meanwhile held a meeting of at the on may reported in the daily of may in which he admitted the able of the value of the cottages which he had himself stated on february were to be entirely cottages to be saved mr flower presided at a special meeting of the committee of the shakespeare s held yesterday when the subject of the treatment of two of the cottages presented by mr came up for further consideration it was reported that during the last few days by the removal of the adjoining buildings and the of the internal plaster inside the to the proof was that most of the original ancient timber work remained it is hoped that means will be found to carry out the main idea of protecting the by and from fire the two cottages which in their various stages of architecture are undoubtedly of very great interest the gift of mr therefore is of even greater value than was at first contemplated and miss will derive some satisfaction from the knowledge that in a measure her efforts have met with success daily may attention was now concentrated more publicly on the matter and after consultation with counsel it was decided that it would be possible to show breach of trust on the part of the in attempting to deal with property the value of which despite their possession of the deeds to it they were ignorant some gentlemen connected with the british association consented to take up this view of the matter and to proceed in law against the full body of under their name securing if possible the of the attorney general this was accordingly done and the of the attorney general duly obtained legal proceedings were commenced and had the desired effect of staying the in street for a short period till further inquiries were made into the position the plain truth of the intended with the commencement of these legal proceedings the committee and the suddenly made it known that the cottages in street were not yet handed over to them by mr the doors of the cottages were locked and the town clerk given the key in charge to wishing to see the interior of the former property of shakespeare s the statement was made that it did not yet belong to the j the reader is requested to compare this statement with of this where the meeting of on february is given and when mr flower plainly stated that mr s gift had been accepted it should be distinctly understood that whereas the cottages were purchased by mr the old house of dated belonged to the many of the are members of the many members of the are in the free library therefore the as could use s shop but could not on any portion of the land belonging to the but now it was set forth that the land did	33
as the life are concerned may be said to rest with mr flower and mr d flower in ex lord the lord lieutenant of the county the mayor of at present g m bird the rev george m a of the parish the rev m a of the grammar school robert town clerk of the after these come the and of the peace for the as follows w g g r j a e park r w w j j r m bird the these form a of the town s trade and business men and are mentioned in the article included in this i e the body together with what i venture to consider the most truly astonishing record committee in the world taking into account the fact that it is entitled to deal with all the able documents relating to the town of shakespeare s birth record committee e j m a master of r college g f d flower w t w g a g m bird report furnished to the british association by george a r i b a hon sec to the and members of the council of the british association gentlemen i e alterations street on i have to report that in accordance with your instructions i have visited on in company with mr s mr who represented the society also accompanied us mr flower sent his carriage to meet us at the railway station and himself pointed out to us what was proposed to be done to the houses i made as directed a very careful examination of the buildings and now beg to state the result of my survey the house known as s shop or the shop and stated to have been the house of shakespeare s cousin and later that of the lawyer who drew up shakespeare s will and to date from contains in the upper some ancient and in fairly sound condition and of interesting character by the recent pulling down of the two cottages the side of this house is now exposed and is in a very condition requiring very careful and that without further delay some of the are quite decayed and others show the action of fire at some period this house appears to have had originally an overhanging front as the recent alluded to has exposed the angle post and curved of massive timber careful of this side with old sound timber of which i am informed there is plenty available from other houses in the town and the filling in of the with good rough cast is what i would venture to recommend for its preservation together with careful pointing of the exposed so far as is perceptible at present no other portion of the old timber front remains behind the red brick wall i fear the proposed alterations to the interior op this house for the purpose op it as a portion of the new library would seriously the of the structure besides destroying its identity as the house occupied by a relative of shakespeare i think it would be a mistake to remove the red brick front or to carry out the proposed alterations as the house does not appear to mb to be suitable to the purposes op a library j moreover there is ample space in the rear available for the library buildings which can be approached report furnished to the british association from the main street street without interfering in any way with this house carefully repaired as above suggested the house will last for many years and will be available for other public purposes the other two houses next the garden of shakespeare s possess much that is of interest and contain a considerable portion of the original quite sound the roof in particular with massive tie beams and curved is continuous over both houses and was i think at one time open to the floor beneath the present upper ceiling being a later introduction these houses i am informed were purchased by the husband of shakespeare s as they stand at present they can easily be repaired to last for years to come and i should think could be made for parish or other public purposes with the of alteration of existing arrangements in conclusion lam bound to admit the difficulty of the position in which the of on the and the library committee are placed i also believe they honestly desire not to destroy any evidence however small which their ancient town with the person or the family of the wonderful genius whose birth and residence there have made that town so illustrious i feel sure that if they can see their way to allow these modest buildings to remain carrying out only such works of as are necessary and them in some such way as i have suggested they will avoid giving pain to those and visitors who appreciate so highly the historical literary and mental associations in any way connected with shakespeare and will deserve of and surely will receive from them gratitude i am gentlemen yours faithfully a r i b a hon sec june the of made to the would have included the handing over this house to their care repaired as suggested proposition for the preservation of the old world character of on by as to and approved by the committee of tlie society for the preservation of ancient buildings as far back as i took an opportunity to lay before mr the facts of the growing of on and the rapid destruction of its old world character i suggested to him the formation of a society of lovers and students who should make it their chief duty to guard from the town of the poet s birth and death mr received the idea with considerable enthusiasm and on the th of january wrote me the letter containing the set forth the society for	33
the protection of ancient buildings street w c dear madam i the notes which i in accordance with your request i read them to my committee yesterday and it directed me to say that it of what i have written the general opinion of the was that if you were successful as it sincerely hopes you will be in starting a society in on it might be wise to allow it to take the form of the society which has been formed at called the old society it has objects similar to yours but embraces all questions affecting the of the town and neighbourhood it is with our society the national trust and the and society if i can assist you further i shall be most happy to do so with d to your remarks about the chapel it is perhaps well that i should tell you that we have been in correspondence with the rev dr whom you may know i remain dear madam yours faithfully secretary th january to retain the historical aspect of shakespeare s native town as far as possible by protecting the buildings which remain from the hand of time and the destruction of man proposition for the preservation of on with the view of this object to urge the to keep the buildings in constant repair and to oppose all additions which cannot come under the head op repair to watch all proposals for new buildings and urge that when they are erected they shall be built of suitable local materials and be kept simple and quiet in design to lay these objects before the authorities on every occasion and failing their attention to bring the matter before the public and urge the government to give its assistance mr will i think be the first to own that i have carried out his suggestions faithfully and to the letter the body an appeal this article is here from the magazine king and country it appeared in the april number many strange and stories have of late i been afloat concerning the digging up of dead bodies for in with breath as it were the newspapers tell us in a thrilling whisper paragraph of men bent on the pursuit of science who go like in the silence of the night to drag up which have been consigned by bell book and candle to eternal rest with prayers tears and blessings and who bear them away secretly to their tables there to be severed from limb from limb till only the ghastly fragments of what was once man or woman lie on their board of trade we have been told how these actually steal the dead for common use as how they will take the poor lifeless forms of human beings who once loved and thought and suffered and set them up as marks to be shot at in the bloody and brutal scientific which they carry on in their private if a bullet the dead heart good that counts one to the brave if it the spot where once the brain why still better for such a shot must be deemed thoroughly grim and horrible are these of the living on the dead and we as we learn that such things can be done and are done in the twentieth century of the christian era with all his and of cruelty and vice scarcely came up to such a refined point of as to rob graves of their buried dead but after all these crimes committed by the human monsters who favour corpse and are on bodies only and we are told fear not them which kill the body rather fear them which kill the soul when both are killed together what shall be the remedy in these latter days a tribe of persons has sprung up who combine in themselves the two criminal of body and soul killing their main object being to obtain temporary by fair means or foul incapable themselves of doing anything intelligent or useful in the world their sole instinct is to rob and kill after the fashion of savages and and if a soul can be slain as well as a body the greater their triumph the finer and nobler the individuality of the soul and body they fasten upon the more they rejoice as they and and like on their stolen meal the larger the dead eagle the more food for smaller birds of prey it has been ordained by the almighty creator of all things wise beautiful or wonderful that for england as for all the little world wherein we dwell there shall only be one shakespeare one supreme spirit of wisdom truth and loving human perception almost infinite indeed in all these the body because so simple so straightforward and so clear without any of learned or concealment of honest intention no man before him was ever so greatly endowed or so truly inspired no man after him has come or ever will come that shall be deemed worthy to have fastened his shoe tie this being the case his remains furnish a whole of for the tribe of body and soul they swarm upon his memory like flies on a pot of honey they drag his ashes out of their quiet in the church of on and rub the sacred dust between their dirty fingers and assuming to be literary though in the name of all the gods of greece literature in her highest sense surely such as only fit to write they seize and pens wherewith to produce and bacon theories in attempts to hang their names on to the great fame they envy miserably and would fain and i make bold to say that if england and the english as the fortunate of shakespeare s and immortal name were once to take such prompt and decisive action to guard his memory as they should do	33
such body such soul killing of the greatest noblest poet of the world would never be if english literary men thought less of themselves and more of the honour of their greatest master and leader whose brains every great and small has sucked at for over three hundred years they would never find space in any magazine or newspaper for so much as a comment on the bacon theory first by that poor who published his fantastic before he had so much as visited or seen anything of the records there nor i will add would they permit such remains of shakespeare as do in his native town to be neglected or utterly destroyed by well meaning persons who are nevertheless wholly ignorant of the value to the world at large of every smallest most minute connection with the acknowledged head and front of english literature i speak boldly for there is need to speak if had spoken in when a christian clergyman the rev francis cut down shakespeare s favourite tree and the house wherein he died new place to the ground both house and tree might have been still standing cowardice in conduct whether social political or literary is the hall mark of the and time and to such a character i have no claim when a man summons up sufficient courage to protest against an abuse or an outrage his utterance is termed when a woman does the same thing she is accused of screaming but if it existed anywhere at the time of the discussion did nothing to prevent the of the late lady martin t from being stuck up opposite the bust of shakespeare in church showed itself on that particular occasion in the and overwhelming vanity of the men concerned in the proposed but my scream as it was then called by such personages as stood by and did nothing at any rate saved those who sincerely reverence shakespeare s memory from the bitter shame of having to look across the historic grave to an ill designed of a modern sitting by a modern reading lamp the table with the poet s works kicking casually about her feet and a of the immortal himself falling as it seemed out of the folds of her skirt and rolling under her chair whatever appalling noise that could possibly be by man or woman to prevent such was useful and welcome whether scream or cry or yell anything at so a moment was better than the mischievous the body of silence and apparently my scream was not quite loud enough for since that day hundreds of people both in great britain and the united states have written to me asking me why i did not do something to prevent such an as tlie martin pulpit from being erected in the church heartily do i wish i could have prevented it and heartily do the worthy of regret that the thing was ever put up but i was in the one case fortunately able to bring legal force to bear on the saving of tlie and i could not so place a bar against the intrusion of the ugly marble pulpit for which a faculty had been easily granted by the retired bishop of dr dr had by the bye equally granted his faculty for about the only it so happened that for once that faculty proved useless but that is another story while on this branch of the subject however it should i think be by those interested in the matter that the holding shakespeare s grave is by no means safe from modern interference any new incumbent coming after the present the rev george and possessing a let us say against literature whose bishop is ready to favour his design could dig the dust here the only would be the force of public opinion but if no one happened to be near to give the warning note that should rouse public opinion the world would remain in ignorance of the mischief being done it is a matter of urgent need that the church of the holy in on should be for ever protected from all possible local interference by an act of parliament it is not too much to ask that the most honoured literary shrine in the world should be specially and particularly guarded preserved and freed from any debt by the government of that country which gave shakespeare birth such an act once passed would be invaluable to the whole world and it might its care of the church a protection of the whole of street the ann s cottage and new place there are of course many other and corners intimately connected with history in the town and neighbourhood but the church the scene of shakespeare s street where he was born and where his childish feet wandered up and down on his way to and from school where he and won his wife ann and new place where he breathed his last are certainly the four chief of the passing of the british i strongly desire to arouse the attention of such true lovers of literature as honour and reverence the genius of shakespeare to the condition and state of things as they are in on at the present day when much more than in time past the hand of the and is allowed to play with such old relics as can never be replaced and whose value from their connection with shakespeare history is quite many ancient and picturesque houses have lately been pulled down to be replaced by the looking while the fine oak and contained in them have been sold out of the town even the little village of dear to all artists is being thoroughly if one may use such an expression by the of and his agents pretty cottages are being mended with common slate or worse still covered in with iron ugly red	33
be of the value of shakespeare history to their town or of the of his work to the world they stand in the year as follow in ex they are the lord lieutenant of the county lord the mayor of the v at present mr g m bird and the and of the peace for the as follow w g proprietor of the red horse hotel r green doctor a e park w and j retired r m bird father of the present mayor g editor of the local paper j timber r w and estate agent j doctor then come the town clerk of the robert the of the parish the rev george m a and the of the grammar school the rev m a who only has occupied his position a year and who was called upon to attend the annual meeting and act as an when he had been in the town only a few days out of all these mentioned the only three who may claim to have received a thorough literary and classical education are the lord a very venerable and kindly gentleman who is scarcely ever seen in and who does not make it at all a point of duty to attend the meetings concerning the the rev g and the rev let us now proceed to those and of the who are elected for life they are arthur edward baker a nephew of the late this gentleman so far as i can understand seldom takes any part in any discussion concerning his great trust the rev m a who lives near and seldom troubles himself about flower and flower his son likewise both of whom may be plainly said to manage the whole thing the lord this gentleman s voice is never heard concerning any matters which regard the preservation of shakespeare s relics f s a whose weight of years renders it impossible for him to give any active attention to the matters in hand sir henry who though he promised more than ten years ago to visit and take some active interest in his master s native town has never done so sir martin who lately distinguished himself by with the over the of the terrible pulpit which now the church and mr lee who has only just been elected and has i presume never had the time to go thoroughly into the matters demanding his and most attention for what he has as yet published concerning merely knowledge by vain counsel now let us consider what is called the record committee a body which has it in its power to deal with the most valuable documents papers deeds and relating to the town and to those parts of it and to those people dwelling in it who were or who might have been connected with the epoch they are as follow w g proprietor of the red horse hotel g m bird the present mayor r g f since this was written i am glad to say that the earl of has l een elected a his advice however re street has been disregarded by the the body w t a to these must be added e j vith the master of college and a d flower the late mayor now mayor the wealthy before mentioned the two latter gentlemen are the only persons on what is perhaps the most valuable record committee in the world who can claim what may be termed a training i give these facts entirely without comment they are for literary england and literary europe and america to consider no doubt both the and and the gentlemen of the record committee are the men that could possibly be found in the town to undertake the particularly literary and duties assigned to them the question stands thus is literary england satisfied that her most literary possession shall be thus guarded i i merely put the question and on my own account offer no answer for it has to be that most of shakespeare s above named try faithfully to do their faithful best in the discharge of their high and peculiar duty lacking as they do entirely any support instruction financial help or guidance such as should be most certainly extended towards their efforts by literary england literary america and the whole of the literary world if they make mistakes it is not by any means their fault it is their misfortune there are hundreds of literary men who should were they loyal to their art interest themselves in the preservation of all the relics remaining of their great monarch and in the sturdy defence of his name and memory and far from such interest all those men and women who are honestly concerned in the welfare financial as well as artistic of their unique town would meet them half way knowing as they must know that the more closely the neighbourhood preserves its old world and special character the greater and more steadily lasting must be its power and prosperity from even a base commercial point of view it is stated in the act passed in that the shall purchase among other things the house at known as the house of mary and any other property known or believed to have belonged to william shakespeare or his wife or parents or relations that this has not been carried out i know for mary s cottage was for sale in and i myself went to see it with a view to it and the same to the care of and the nation but before i could so much as make an offer it had gone to utter scraped and with all the beautiful old cut down and torn off the walls i know not who has transformed the former home of shakespeare s mother into two cheap instead of allowing it to remain as it was the one quaint old cottage	33
which when i saw it first looked almost as as the house of ann every credit is due to the large benevolence of the late mr charles flower who brought about the building of the memorial theatre on the banks of the even though his zeal carried him to the rash length of actually a issue of shakespeare s works concerning which it is said the editor aimed especially at producing an edition which could be read aloud in general society here was a case of a well meaning gentleman rushing in where angels fear to tread but all the same no one can deny that had it not been for the enthusiasm and liberality of this excellent man there would very probably have been no this statement has since been denied by the owner of the house a mr smith i have been to see it again and find my view entirely confirmed by the aspect of the house itself the body memorial to shakespeare at all in at the present day of course it is open to whether the memorial theatre is a real benefit to the town seeing that it is vacant for more than half the year owing to the large asked for its use though it is the only self endowed theatre in britain considering that so large a building furnished and heated throughout is devoted for ten out of every twelve months to merely providing a comfortable sitting place for one or two it really seems a waste of money and good material on mr s part even to build a free library at all anywhere else in the town seeing that there is plenty of accommodation for such an institution in the memorial itself considerable sums of money were by the outside public to this building and though mr charles flower did most supply the necessary remaining and largest required for its completion he would have been the last person in the world to wish to make of it a kind of white elephant as it is now in the management of the actual people of shakespeare s town have no voice hence certain sarcastic names applied to it by the wicked wits of the neighbourhood who are not wanting in the same native humour which impelled shakespeare so they say to jest with the dignity of sir thomas in his character of justice shallow but as a matter of fact some half dozen letters which i happen to possess from the of the building charles flower letters written in amply testify to his intention that the theatre should be anything but as it is sometimes called a tied house that it should be of use and service to the and that the pretty garden attached to it should be always open and free it is now kept locked and persons can only gain admission to it by passing through the theatre and paying a fee which though exceedingly small still a check on the former sweet liberty of a stroll by the quiet which used to exist in good charles flower s lifetime it seems only natural and reasonable that a building lying waste as it were for nearly all the year should be used for a free library as well as a theatre no are required there is already a reading room a few extra shelves of books some arm chairs side tables and newspaper are all that is needed and these the free library rate would very soon cover even the smaller building known as the memorial lecture room would make a fairly good free library all ready to hand it is now very seldom used and all its would be tables chairs newspaper and an array of shelves well loaded with the necessary books or if both these buildings the memorial theatre and the memorial lecture room are judged for the purpose there is a large piece of vacant land nearly opposite the theatre standing high and dry with a pleasant to the river belonging to mrs flower widow of the late benevolent charles flower which would make an excellent site for mr s proposed gift and which no doubt mrs charles flower would be only too generously ready to give if she were approached on the subject at any rate it will thus be seen by the public at large that there exists not the slightest excuse for the disturbance or of street where the poet was born if a free library be judged necessary for though there are different opinions on that point then by all means let there be a free library but in the name of everything that is great and noble in literature let there be no at and of the few remains left to us of memory and association with the greatest man of all time the prevailing of a disastrous ignorance clouds the perception of many would be into the records and even as regards the very the body houses of the town the present inhabitants of them are perhaps the least conscious of their former history the hard working and patient at the mr richard savage whose industry has opened out a mine of wealth so vast that it would need many acting entirely under his guidance to follow out the rich veins of knowledge and information which he could put them all to work upon is tied too fast to his desk of daily duty even to have the time to explain how very much there is yet to be done by scholars and students who would devote themselves to the task of tracing the shakespeare history and establishing the proofs of shakespeare s constant out put of work in that three hundred years ago period he is only one man expected to do the work of fifty he sits as it were in the centre of a great web of time whose float	33
always able and more than ready to condemn a without reading it mat an honest me was a man b l god name was john god s good tt was may time in england the last breath of a long winter had blown its final farewell across the hills the last frost had melted the broad low lying fields its iron grip from the of rich red brown earth which now soft and broken were thick with the corn s tender green it had been a hard season many a time since february onward had the too eagerly pushing of trees and shrubs been by cruel cold many a biting east wind had withered e first pale green leaves of the and the and the stormy of a chill northern spring had played with all the dainty blossoms that should according to the ancient shepherd s have been fully with the and but during the closing days of april a sudden grateful warmth had set in nature the divine goddess seemed to awaken from long slumber and stretch out her arms with a happy smile and when may morning dawned on the world it came as a vision of glory in clear sunshine and with skies birds broke into song young and apple boughs quivered almost visibly every moment into pink and white bloom and raised their heads from comers in the grass and expressed their innocent thoughts in sweetest and in and through all things the glorious thrill tiie mysterious joy of renewed life hope and love from the creator to his creation it was may time a real old fashioned english may such as and sang of when all is with blossoms the ground with grass the with leaves the bushes with god s good man and when whatever promise our existence yet holds for ns seems far enough away to inspire ambition yet close enough to encourage fair dreams of fulfilment to experience this and of the time of the year one must be in the country for in the towns the of spring is and feverish it sick and weary regrets but scarcely any positive ecstasy the close streets the people the high buildings and of chimneys which only permit the patches of sky to be visible the incessant noise and movement the self absorbed crowding and crushing all these things are so many to nature and are as dead walls of obstacle set against the and forces with which she her children of the forest field and mountain out on the wild in the heart of the woods in the deep where the scent of moss and pine boughs fills the air with influences or by the quiet rivers flowing peacefully under bending and past wide beds where the down with the sun ray and the timid hen to and from her nest among the in such as these the advent of a warm and brilliant may is with that tremor of delight which gives birth to beauty and concerning which that ancient and picturesque sir thomas writes like as may and in many gardens so in likewise let every man of worship flourish his heart in this world there was a certain man of worship in the world at the particular time when this present record of life and love begins who found himself very well disposed to flourish his heart in the manner prescribed when after many dark days of cold and general depression may at last came in rejoicing seated under broad apple boughs which spread around him like a studded with rosy bud jewels that shone glossy bright against the rough dark brown stems he surveyed the smiling scenery of his own garden with an air of satisfaction that was almost boyish though his years had run well past forty and he was a parson to boot a gravely would have seemed the more fitting expression for his age and the generally accepted nature of his calling a kind of of the sunshine as part of the universal of things or a consciousness of the bursting apple blossoms within his reach as a kind of inferior god s good man circumstance which could neither be altered nor avoided the john however was one of those rarely gifted individuals who cannot assume an aspect which is foreign to temperament he was of a cheerful even sanguine disposition and his countenance faithfully reflected the ordinary bent of his humour seeing him at a distance the casual observer would at once have judged him to be either an or an there was no superfluous flesh about him he was tall and muscular with well knit limbs broad shoulders and a head altogether lacking in the humble or which all worldly wise cultivate for the benefit of their rich it was a proud head almost of strong character and self reliance well poised on a full throat and set off by a considerable quantity of dark brown hair which was in brushing inclined to curls and dashed with grey a broad forehead deeply set dark blue eyes a straight and very prominent nose a strong jaw and obstinate chin a firmly mouth round which many a sweet and tender thought had drawn kindly little lines of gentle smiling that were scarcely hidden by ihe silver brown moustache such briefly was the appearance of one who though only a country clergyman of whom the great world knew nothing was the living representative of more powerful authority to his little cure of souls than either the bishop of the or the king in all his majesty he was the sole owner of one of the smallest in england an obscure deeply hidden but perfectly and beautiful of days situated in one of the loveliest of and known as the village of st best sometimes	33
called st est until quite lately there had been considerable doubt as to the origin of this name and the correct manner of its some said it should be st east because right across the purple and beyond the line of blue hills where the sun rose there stretched the sea miles away and invisible it is true but never asserting its in every breath of wind that blew across the pines st east therefore said certain rural was the real name of the village because it faced the sea towards the east others however declared that the name was derived from the memory of some early church on the banks of the peaceful river that its slow god s good man dear length in silver ribbons of light round and about the fields and high banks fringed with wild rose and snowy thorn and that it should therefore be st best or better still the saint s best this latter theory had recently received strong confirmation by an unexpected witness to the past as will presently be duly seen and but st best or st est whichever name rightly belonged to it was in itself so insignificant as a that its present priest and patron had bought it for himself through the good offices of a friend in l e days when such purchases were possible and for some ten years had been supreme of his tiny kingdom and limited people the church was his especially his since he had restored it entirely at his own expense the a sided half built in the century was his the garden f of shrubs carelessly planted and to flourish at their own wild wiu was his the ten acres of pasture land that spread in green round and about his dwelling were his and best of all the orchard containing some five acres planted with the apples and and bearing against its long high southern wall the finest x and in the county was his also he had in fact everything the heart of a man especially the heart of a clergyman could except a wife and that had been offered to him from many quarters in various delicate and ways only to be as delicately and rejected and there seemed no need for any change in his condition he had gone on so far in life so far i he would occasionally remind himself with a little smile and sigh that a more or less solitary habit had by long familiarity become pleasant actual loneliness be had never because it was not in his nature to feel lonely his well balanced intellect had the brilliant quality of a finely cut diamond bearing many and reflecting all the hues of life in light and colour thus it quite naturally happened that most things even ordinary and common things interested him he was a great lover of books and to a moderate extent a of rare he also had a passion for wherein he was sustained by a certain poetic insight of which he was himself unconscious the ordinary is generally a mere dry as dust who plays with the bones of the past as shakespeare s fancied god s good man she might play with her forefathers joints and who all use of the imaginative instinct as though it were some deadly evil whereas it truly needs a very powerful imaginative to peer down into the recesses of and re people the ruined haunts of dead men with their shadowy ghosts of learning art enterprise or ambition to use the eyes of his soul in such looking backward down the stream of time as well as in looking forward to that crystal sea of the unknown future flowing round the white throne whence the river of life proceeds was a favourite mental occupation with john he loved and all such scientific problems as involve study and complex calculation but equally he loved the simplest flower and the most ordinary village tale of sorrow or mirth to him by any one of his he gave himself such change of air and as he thought he required by taking long swinging walks about the and found sufficient in a science in which he displayed considerable skill no one in all the neighbourhood could match his roses or anything to compare with the purple and white masses of which quite early in january came out under his glass frames not only perfect in shape and colour but full of the real english violet fragrance a of sweetness which somehow seems to be entirely withheld from the french and for tiie rest he was physically sound and morally healthy and lived as it were on the straight line from earth to heaven beginning each day as if it were his first life opportunity and ending it and with prayer as though it were his last to such a mind and temperament as his the influences of nature the sublime laws of the universe and the of existence must needs move in circles of harmonious unity making loveliness out of and poetry out of prose the of what is called pleasure or with the sickly moral of a corrupt society would be quite at a loss to understand what possible enjoyment could be obtained by sitting placidly under an apple tree with a well volume of the wisdom of inspired pagan slave in the hand and the eyes fixed not on any printed page but on a spray of warmly blushing blossom where a well fed its softly breast was singing a wild concerning its god s good man mate which could human skill have its meaning might have given ideas to a nation s yet john found happiness in this apparently vague and vacant way there was an acute sense of joy for him in the repeated sweetness of the s	33
the light breeze stirring through a great bush of early near the edge of the lawn sent out a wave of which through his sensitive blood like wine the sunlight was warm and comforting and altogether there seemed nothing wrong with ihe world particularly as the morning s newspapers had not yet come in with them would arrive the sad of human mischief and but till these daily morbid records made their appearance may day might be accepted as god made it and gave it a gift pure bright and calm with not a shadow on its lovely face of the spirit of himself had even seemed to join in the general delight of nature for held the book half open at a page whereon these words were written had we understanding thereof would any other thing better us than to hymn the divine being and him and his gracious deeds these things it were fitting every man should sing and to chant the greatest and hymns for this that he has given us the power to observe and consider his works and a way wherein to walk if i were a i would do after the manner of a if a swan after that of a swan but now i am a reasoning creature and it me to sing the praise of god this is my task and this i do nor as long as it is granted me will i ever abandon this post and you too i summon to join me in the same song a wonderfully advanced christian way of looking at life for a pagan slave of the time of i thought as his eyes wandered from the on the tree back to the volume in his hand with all our teaching and preaching we can hardly do better i wonder here his mind became altogether distracted from classic lore by the appearance of a very boy clad in a suit of brown and wearing nailed boots a couple of sizes too large for him who coming suddenly out from a alley behind the comer of the to the extreme verge of the lawn and stopped there pulling his god s good man cap off and treading on his own toes from left to right and from right to left in a state of come along come along i don t stand there bob i and rose placing on the seat he what is it bob set his nailed feet on the lawn with precaution and advancing cap in hand produced a letter slightly by his thumb and finger from sir please sir i e took the small and neatly folded and bearing the words hall stamped in gold at the back of the envelope oi it he read sir presents his compliments to the reverend john and having a party of distinguished guests staying with him at the hall will be glad to know at what day and hour this week he can make a visit of inspection to the church with his friends a slight tinge of colour s face presently he smiled and tearing up the note leisurely put the fragments into one of his large loose coat pockets for to scatter a of paper on his lawn or garden paths was an offence which neither he nor any of those he employed ever committed how is your mother bob he then said approaching the who stood respectfully watching him and awaiting his pleasure please sir she s all right but she i ul does die repeated the reverend john ah that is bad i am sorry i we must let me think yes bob we must see what we can do for her eh i yes sir replied bob meekly turning his cap round and round and wondering what was thinking about to have such a funny look in his eyes yes repeated cheerfully we must see what we can do for her my compliments to sir bob and say i will write else sir nothing or as you put it bob i wish you would remember my dear boy and here he laid his firm well shaped hand on the small brown shoulder that the word does not in a k if you refer to your book i am sure you will see that i am right the authorities would not approve of your bob and i am endeavour god s good man ing to save you future trouble with the government by the way did sir give you anything for bringing his note to me he would when i got back sir said he would when you got back well i have my doubts bob i do not think he will and the being worthy of his hire here is sixpence which if you like to do a sum on your slate you will find is at the rate of one penny per mile when you are a working man you will understand the strict justice of my payment it is three miles from hall and three back again and now i come to think of it what were you doing up at bob grinned from ear to ear me an went up on with a early sir john smiled it was may morning of course it was i and in the village of st rest the old customs of may day were still kept up though in the county town of only seven miles away they were forgotten or if remembered at all were only used as an excuse for drinking and vulgar horse play you and went up on very of you both i am sure i and did you make anything out of it no sir there ain t no ladies there miss some london and sir e flew into an passion like e do sir	33
an told us to leave off and out off my ground he off then jest as we was a off he down like an e e take a note to the dam for me an bring a an i ll give yer when yer back an all the was a at breakfast with the wide open an the smell of am an eggs through strong an they fit to split an one on em tried to kiss an she his face for im i the of this remarkable incident spoken with breathless rapidity in a burst of confidence seemed to cause the relief supposed to be obtained by a penitent in the and to lift a weight off bob s mind the deepened on the s face and for a moment he had some difficulty to control an outbreak of laughter but the possibly effect it might have on the more youthful members of the community if he the god s good man of the parish were reported to have laughed at the conduct of the he controlled himself and assumed a serious air that will do bob i that wiu you must learn not to repeat all you hear especially such objectionable words as may occasionally be used by a a a gentleman of sir s high standing and here he his shoulders and looked severely down on the abashed anon he himself somewhat and his eyes with kindly humour why didn t you bring the here he i suppose you thought it would not be as good a as hall and file london eh bob opened his round eyes very wide we be all ere sir he burst out all on us ever so many on us i but we reckoned to make a round of the village first and see how we took on and finish up wi you sir i she be a her best for ere we be all a fore twelve smiled good i i shall expect you and mind you don t all sing out of time when you do come if you commit such an offence i shall let me see i i shall make of you i shall indeed i positive and bottle you up in for christmas and he nodded with the bland air of the giant in a fairy tale whose particular humour is the devouring of small children now you had better get back to hall with my message do you remember it my compliments to sir and i will write he turned away and bob made as rapid a departure as was consistent with the deep respect he felt for the having extracted a promise from the butcher boy of the village who was a friend of his that if he were quick about it he would get a drive up to and back again in the butcher s cart going there for orders instead of it the reverend john meanwhile strolled down one of the many winding garden paths past clusters of and into a favourite comer which he called the wilderness because it was left by his orders in a more or less condition of natural growth here the a name sometimes given by to the for no reason at all except to god s good man create confusion in the innocent minds of amateur was opening its white mock orange blossoms and a mass of spread out before him like a carpet of woven gold here too of forth from behind the moss grown stems of several ancient oaks and elms and purple bordered the edge of the grass a fine old grown in tree form formed a natural arch of entry to this shady retreat and its flowers were just now in their full beauty hanging in a magnificent profusion of pale from the stems many roses of the climbing or rambling kind were planted here and john s quick eye soon perceived where a long green shoot of one of those was loose and waving in the wind to its own possible he felt in his pockets for a bit of or to tie up the stem he was very seldom without something of the kind for such but this time he only among the fragments of sir s note and found nothing useful stepping out on the path again he looked about him and caught a glimpse of a stooping form in weather beaten garments planting something in one of the borders at a little distance i he called the figure slowly raised itself and as slowly turned its head just come here and tie this rose up will you the individual addressed approached at a very deliberate pace dragging out some entangled from his pocket as he came and it into with his teeth partly prepared his task for him by holding up the rose branch in the way it should go and on his arrival assisted him in the business of securing it to the bough from which it had fallen that looks better i he remarked as he stepped back and surveyed it you might do this one at the same time while you are about it and he pointed to a of crimson which had blown loose from their and were lying across the grass this place wants a clean out remarked then in accents of deep disdain as he stooped to gather up the branches it beats me altogether to know what you wants wi a bed for weeds an stuff in the middle of a decent garden that old sin god s good man ii is the only here that is worth keeping ah i y are a precious sight y are he continued the branches for all yer green ye ain t a goin to do much this year i all sham an y are all leaf an	33
shoot an no flower like a great many people i knows on ah an not so far from this village neither i i d clear it all out if i was you i would now i laughed don t open the old argument i he said we have talked of this before i like a bit of wild nature sometimes wild i echoed seems to me wants a bit of a wash an brush up fore she sits down to her master s table an who s er master man i she s jest like a child out of a play in the woods an er s all blown an er nails is all dirty that s i trim er up an curl er air an she s worth looking at lor if ye likes wild ye ain t got no call to keep a ner but if ye pays me an keeps me ye must me to do my duty wherefore i why not ave this ere place a for an green ah i an i shouldn t wonder if fly got amongst em too i why not i say have it cleaned out i like it as it is responded with cheerful and a smile at the thick set obstinate looking figure of his head man about the place as loved to be called have you planted out my planted em out every one was e reply the an i ve put enough sweet peas in to supply garden market in mind as ow you you couldn t have enough on em sir s came along while i was a of it an e over the edge an e e com are yer no ye i ever seen com at all in a bin mixed wi an then he used a bit of is master s or language which as ye knows is evil c good manners even in a as no more to do than wash an comb a man like a an pocket fifty a year for of is master clean lor what a it is i what a i god s good man he had by this time tied up the crimson in orderly fashion and the john his to hide a smile proceeded to issue various orders according to his usual daily custom don t forget to plant some in the west border not the giant kind the of the large is rough and coarse compared with that of the smaller variety put plenty of the common stuff in such as our grew in their gardens before you latin loving wise acres began to try for size rather than sweetness drew himself up with a quaint assumption of dignity and by lifting his head a little more showed his countenance fully a countenance which though weather worn and deeply was a distinctly intelligent one shrewd and thoughtful with sundry little curves of humour lighting up its native expression of i suppose y are to the f k h s he said they all loves latin as cats loves milk they knows ow to pronounce it myself not bein a r e h nor likely to be i m bound to confess i in it a bit though there s a chap i gets cheap shrubs of his latin s worse nor mine an e s got all the three letters after is name ow did e get em by reason of competition in the show lor fool can grow ye a as big as a if that s yer fancy that ain t scientific i an as for the i reckon to agree wi ye the size ain t the sweetness when i married i married a small for i little to carry less to keep i an that s true enough though she s gained in breadth lor love er she never ad in as i was a the chap i gets shrubs of off is latin like of mud off a garden but e don t understand it while e it for show bless ye i it all goes down wi sir though for e e my are the prize vegetable grown by mr of r r h e s got it in is i i i a bit o latin do go down wi some folks in the line it do now i talking of sir said his gardener s it seems he has visitors up at the hall e as so returned an god s good man o if one may go by out ard appearance not a single firm well put down leg among em mostly lords and bein so lately for a at out of tlie proceeds o bone into buttons sir couldn t a course be expected to put up wi a plain food wi im well well whoever they are tbey want to see the church seems to me a sight o folks wants to see the church since ye spent so much money on it said somewhat there be a charge made for entry smiled thoughtfully but there was a small line of vexation on his brow they want to see the church he repeated or rather sir wants them to inspect the church and then his smile expanded and became a soft mellow laugh what a old fellow it is one would almost think he had restored the church himself and not only restored it but built it altogether and endowed it i he turned to go then suddenly himself of other matters that bare comer near the house must be filled with the plants are just ready to bed out and look to the in the front border by the way do you see that straight line along the wall there where i am pointing yes sir rejoined his eyes from	33
the strong sun with one hand well plant nothing but there as many as you can in we must have a blaze of colour to contrast with those dark see to the and by the porch and there is a rose near the drawing room window that wants cutting back a bit he moved a step or two then again turned i shall want you later on in the orchard the grass there needs attending to a slow grin pervaded s countenance ye minds me of the ye does now he said wi all yer different orders an y are to me like the very moral o the i looked amused how do you make that out easy enough sir the us in sun ry places i i and burst into a god s good man hoarse chuckle of mirth entirely delighted with his own and walked off not waiting to see whether its effect on his master was one of offence or appreciation he was pretty sure of his ground however for he left john laughing a laugh that his face with some of the sunshine stored up in his mind and the sparkle of mirth still lingered in his eyes as crossing the lawn and passing the seat where the volume of lay now decorated by a couple of pale pink shell like dropped from the apple blossoms above it he entered his house and proceeding to his study sat down and wrote the following brief the reverend john presents his compliments to sir and in reply to his note to say that as the church is always open and free sir and his friends can inspect it at any time provided no service is in progress putting this in an envelope he sealed and stamped it it should go by post and sir would receive it next morning there was no need for a special messenger either in the person of bob or in the of the post office messenger service for there is not the slightest hurry he said to himself it will not hurt sir to be kept waiting on the contrary it will do him good he had it all his own way in this parish before i came but now for the past ten years he has known what it is to kick against the of legitimate church authority legitimate church authority is a fine thing half the in the world don t use it and a goodly portion of the other half it but when you ve got a purse proud self satisfied old county like sir to deal with the pressure of the iron hand should be distinctly exercised under the velvet glove he laughed heartily back his head with a sense of enjoyment in his laughter then rising from his desk he turned towards the wide doors of his study which opened into the garden and looked out as though looking across the world and far beyond it the sweet mixed of birds the thousand of flowers made the air both fragrant and musical the glorious sunshine the clear blue sky the rustling of the young leaves the whispering of the warm wind through the all these influences entered the mind and soul of the man and aroused a keen joy which almost touched the god s good man verge of sadness life about mm in such waves of passion that his own heart uneasily with nature s warm restlessness and the which in spite of his high and spiritual faith had often troubled him came back again to his mind why should life be made so beautiful only to end in death this was the shadow that hung over all things this was the one darkness he and others of his calling were to into light this was the one dismal end for all poor human creatures which he as a minister of the gospel was bound to try and represent as not an end but a beginning and his soul was moved to profound love and pity as he raised his eyes to the serene heavens and asked himself what compensation can all the most eloquent teaching and preaching make to men for the loss of the mere sunshine can the vision of a world beyond the grave satisfy the heart so much as this one perfect morning of may an involuntary sigh escaped him the beating wings of a swallow flying from its nest imder the old above him flashed a of quivering light against his eyes and away in the wide meadow beyond where the happy cattle wandered up to their in and grass the called with cheerful one of old s legends came to his mind telling how the knight is risen and on the all for to do his to and to the grove of which that i you told by his way he to hold to him a of the were it of or of leaves and loud he sung against the sunny o with all thy flowers and thy green right welcome be thou fair fresh i hope that i some green here may smiling at the antique simplicity and freshness of the lines as they rang across his brain like the musical of an his ears suddenly caught the sound of young voices singing at a distance here come the children i he said and stepping out from his open window into the garden he again bent his ear to listen the tremulous voices came nearer and nearer and i god s good man words could now be distinguished breaking through the primitive melody of the song known to all the country side since the century remember us poor all and thus do we begin to lead our lives in or else we die in sin we have been rambling all this night and almost all this	33
day and now returning back again we bring you in the may the hedges and trees they are so green in the s goodly heat our heavenly father he watered them with his heavenly dew so sweet a branch of may we have brought you here came a pause and the chorus dropped into an uncertain murmur john heard his garden gates swing back on their hinges and a shuffling of numerous small feet on the gravel path g am i cried a shrill boy s voice if y are us lead g am i a sweet like responded to this emphatic singing alone clear and high a branch of may and then all the other voices in a branch of may we have brought you and at your door it stands tis but a but tis out by the work of our lord s hands and with this a great crown of crimson and white blossoms set on a tall gaily painted pole and adorned with bright coloured ribbons came nodding down the box tree alley to the middle of the lawn opposite s study window where it was quickly straightened up and held in position by the eager hands of some twenty or thirty children of all sizes and who surrounding it at its base turned their faces full god s good man ol shy exultation towards their still singing but in more careful time and tune the heavenly gates are open wide our paths are beaten plain and if a man be not too far gone he may return again the moon shines bright and the stars give light a little before it is day so gk d bless you all both great and small and send you a may n a moment or two found himself smitten by so strong a sense of the mere simple joy of living that he could do no more than stand looking in silent admiration at the pretty group of expectant young creatures gathered round the and huddled as it were under its crown of blossoms which showed vividly against the clear sky while the long of red white and blue depending from its summit on the sprinkled grass at their feet every little face was familiar and dear to him that awkward lad grinning from ear to ear with a particularly fine of in his cap was dick certainly a very different individual to s knight but resembling him in so far that he had evidently gone into the woods early moved by the same desire i hope that i some green here may that tiny girl well to the front with a clean white frock on and no hat to cover her of golden curls was baby the last the very last of the seemingly endless olive branches of ihe adam frost why the poor child had been doomed to carry the name of no one ever knew when he had her he almost doubted whether he had heard the aright and ventured to ask the of the occasion to repeat it in a louder voice whereupon hip po ly ta was uttered in such strong tones so thoroughly well that he could no longer mistake it and the helpless infant screaming left the simple english with a purely greek she was however always called by her and even her mother and father who were entirely responsible for her name in the first instance found it somewhat for daily utterance and gladly adopted the though the elders of the village generally were rather fond of calling her with much solemn baby as though it were an elaborate joke was one of the loveliest children in the i god s good man village and though she was only two and a half years old she was fully aware of her own charms she was pushed to the front of the this morning merely because she was pretty and she knew it that was why she lifted the extreme edge of her short skirt and put it in her mouth thereby displaying her fat innocent bare legs and smiled at the john out of the uplifted comers of her forget me not blue eyes then there was bob more or less breathless with excitement having just got back again from hall his friend the butcher boy having driven him to and from that place in a as he afterwards described it and there was a very sparkling smiling little person of about fifteen in a cotton frock who wore a wreath of on her black curls no other than generally alluded to in the village as bob s and standing near baby or was the acknowledged yoimg beauty of the place a slip of a with a fair like face long chestnut curls and great dark soft eyes like filled with dew had a decided talent for music she sang very prettily and led the village choir under the guidance of miss the this morning however she was the duties of on her own account and very sweet she looked in her cheap white gown wearing a bunch of carelessly set in her hair and carrying a in her hand with which she beat time for her companions as they followed her bird like in the song but just now all singing had ceased and every one of the children had their eyes fixed on john with a mingling of timidity affection and awe that was very winning and pretty to behold taking in the whole picture of nature youth and beauty as it was set against the pure of the sky that he was expected to say something in fact he had called upon to say something every year at this time but he had never been able to conquer the singular which always overcame him on such occasions it is one thing to preach	33
from a pulpit to an assembled congregation who are prepared for or and who are ready to listen with more or less patience to the of the same but it is quite another to speak to a of girls and boys all full of mirth and mischief and as ready for a as a held of yoimg in a meadow when it happens god s good man that most of the girls are pretty and when as a clergyman and of souls one is conscious that the are more or less all in love with the girls that one is a bachelor getting on in years too and that chief est of all it is one may perhaps be conscious of a at the heart a of the throat even a slight mist before the eyes may and such an one who knows a flash of lost youth may sting the memory a boyish craving for love and sympathy may stir the blood and may make the parson s speech for after all even a minister of the divine is but a man at any rate the john found it difficult to begin the round forget me not eyes of baby stared into his face with the velvet coloured ones of smiled up at him with a bewildering and of charm and the mischief loving small boys and village who stood against the like rough fairy guarding magic timber were with all the rest of the children hushed into a breathless waiting eagerly for to speak and thereupon began in the most manner my dear children i three cheers for i i wild followed and the rocked uneasily and began to downward in a drunken fashion like a giant whom strong wine has made doubtful of his footing take care you young i cried letting sentiment and eloquence go to the winds you will have the whole thing down of gay laughter responded and the nodding mass of bloom was swiftly pulled up and assisted to support its necessary dignity but here baby suddenly created a diversion moved perhaps by the of her own beauty or by the general excitement around her she suddenly waved a miniature branch of and a piercing yell i ere i i turn ere i there was no possibility of holding forth after this a short address on the of life as being co equal with the joys of a would hardly serve and a ambition as to the attitude of god s good man assumed by independent young villagers carrying a great crown of flowers round to every house in the neighbourhood and demanding pence for the show would scarcely bo popular because what did the song say the heavenly gates are opened wide our paths are beaten plain and if a man be not too far gone he may return again and the heavenly gates of spring being wide open the john thought his special path was beaten plain for the occasion and not being too far gone either in or lack of heart john did what he reverently imagined the divine master might have done when he took a little child and set it in the midst he obeyed baby s imperious command and to her again loudly ere he sprang forward and caught her up in his arms kissing her rosy cheeks heartily as he did so seated in high exalted state upon his shoulder became in good earnest so thoroughly aware was she of her dignity while holding her as lightly and as he would have held a bird the john turned his smiling face on his young come along boys and girls he exclaimed come and plant the in the big meadow yonder as you did last year i it is a holiday for us all to day f or me as well as for you it has always been a holiday even before the days when great elizabeth was queen of england and many dear old customs have fallen into with the changing world st best has never yet been robbed of its may day festival be thankful for that children i and come along but move carefully keep order and sing as you come whereupon lifted up her pretty voice again and her at the same moment and started the chorus with the verse we have been rambling all this night and almost all this day and now returning back again we bring you in the may and thus they passed through the garden moving meadow wards at the head of the procession and baby seated on his shoulder was so elated with the god s good man sights and sounds that she clasped her arms round s neck and kissed him with a that was as fresh and delightful as it was irresistibly comic making his way along the southern wall of the orchard to take a glance round as he termed it at the con of the wall fruit trees before his master joined on the usual morning tour of inspection stopped and drew aside to watch the merry procession winding along under the brown dotted with thousands of red into white bloom and a slow smile moved the of his face upward in various pleasant lines as he saw the leading it with a light step carrying the laughing on liis shoulder and now and again joining in the song with a mellow voice that warmed and sustained whole chorus there e goes he said half aloud like a boy for all the like a boy i reckon e s got the secret o never old for all that is air s a bit grey ow many in this ere would carry the children like that i wonder not one on em i though there s a	33
make the circuit of the garden in the company of according to custom and as he stretched his four hairy out comfortably and his brown eyes at a in the turf for a worm within a stone s throw of him he was evidently considering whether it would be worth his while as an animal to escort these two men on their usual round on such a warm pleasant morning for it was a dog s real lazy day a day when merely to lie on the grass was sufficient god s good man for the mind and yawning and stretching himself a little more closed his eyes in a of peace and stirred his tail slightly with one two three mild on the soft grass when a sudden dear whistle caused him to spring up with every hair on end fore well forward and eyes wide open was nothing if not and the voice of his master was despite all considerations of sleep and sunshine to him as the voice of the commanding officer to a he was off like a shot at a tearing pace nose down and tail erect and in less than a minute had scented in the which led by down from the orchard to the banks of the river best and there finding him started round round him as though years had parted man and dog from one another instead of the brief space of an hour was smiling to and his countenance was extremely pleasant with the quaint conceit to pet animals imagined that the smile was produced specially for him and continued his wild and till his red tongue hung a couple of inches out of his mouth with excess of heat and enthusiasm p said the reverend john mildly don t make such a noise down lad down subsided and on reaching the river bank on his with his tongue still out while he watched his master step on a small floating pier attached by iron chains and posts to the land and bend over into the clear water looking anxiously downward to a spot he well knew where hundreds of rare water lilies were planted deep in the bed of the stream he murmured in the yearning tone of a lover addressing his beloved now i wonder if i shall see anything of them this year i the must have been eaten up by uttered a short bark the faintest whisper of rats seriously affected his nerves he could have told his master many a story of those mischievous creatures swimming to and fro in the peaceful flood tearing with their sharp at the lily roots and making a horrible of all the most perfect of promise the river rest itself was bo clear and bright that it was difficult to associate rats god s good man with its silver flowing yet there were hiding among the and the and reed out of their little innocent lives caught and killed them whenever he could but he had no particular taste for swimming and he was on rather strained relations with a pair of who with a brood of kept fierce guard on the opposite bank against all unwelcome intrusion his careful examination of the lily beds done john sprang back again from the pier to the land and there hesitated a moment his eyes rested on a light which running half out of a rustic swayed on the gleaming water i wish i had time he said half aloud while his tail violently sat waiting and expectant the river looked tempting the young green of the silver drooping above its shining surface the lights and shadows rippling across it with every breath of air the of to and fro the hum of bees among the and that were pushing through the turf were all so many invitations to him to go forth into the fair freedom of nature the green trees whispered low and mild it was a sound of joy they were my when a child and rocked me in their arms so wild still they looked on me and smiled as if i were a boy such simple lines by too the despised of all the sir of criticism yet coming to s memory suddenly they touched a of vivid emotion and still they whispered soft and low oh i could not choose but go he half under his breath and then with a decided movement turned from the winding river towards the house no it s no use he said aloud addressing his four footed comrade who thereupon got up reluctantly and began to trot beside him we mustn t be selfish there are a thousand and one things to do there is dinner to be served to the children at two o clock there is mrs to call upon there are the school accounts to be god s good man here he glanced at his watch good heavens i how time flies it is half past eleven i i shall have to see later on he hurried his steps and was just in sight of his study window when he was met by his a neat trim young woman who rejoiced in the name of and who said as she approached him if you please sir mrs his genial face fell a little and he heaved a short sigh mrs oh lord i mean very well i show her in you are sure she wants to see me or is it her girl she is after she didn t mention sir replied she said she wished to see you very particular all right i show her into my study and afterwards just go round to the orchard and teu i will see him when he s had his dinner i know i sha n t get off	33
under an hour at least he sighed again then smiled and entered the house following arrived in his own quiet he took off his soft hat and seated himself at his desk with a composed air of patient attention as the door was opened to admit a looking lady with a round and countenance clad in a black gown and wearing a somewhat black bonnet tipped well forward under which her grey hair was so far back as to be scarcely visible there was a certain dignity about her and a generally superior tone of self consciousness even in the which she dropped respectfully as she returned s kindly nod and glance good morning mrs good morning sir i i trust i see you well sir thank you mrs i am very well which is a mercy indeed said mrs fervently for we never knows from one day to another whether we may be sound or crippled considering the diseases which now flies in the air with the dust in the common road as the papers tell us and dust is a thing we cannot prevent do what we may for the dust is there by the will of the almighty who made us all out of it she paused john smiled and pointed to a chair won t you sit down mrs thank you kindly sir and mrs accordingly god s good man into the seat indicated with evident relief and satisfaction i will confess that it is a step to walk on such a warm morning you have come straight from the turning over a few papers on his desk and wondering within himself when the good woman was going to herself of her business straight from the sir yes and such a heat and i never felt on any may morning which is most i am sure a cold may and a warm is what i prefers myself but when you get the and the together in the woods on the first of may you can look out for weather at so i have heard my mother often say and she was considered a wise woman in her time i do assure you here mrs her bonnet strings and flung them apart she likewise loosened the top button of her collar and heaved a deep sigh again the reverend john smiled and vaguely balanced a i on his fore finger i your mother was quite right mrs i indeed i believe all our mothers were quite right in their day all the same i m glad it s a fine may morning for the children s they are all down in the big meadow having a together your little is with them looking as bright as a may blossom herself mrs straightened herself up patted her ample bosom with one hand and threw her bonnet strings still further back s a good she said though a bit and wild but i m not saying anything again her the lord forbid that i should run down my own flesh and blood an she s better than most of her age i wouldn t g her a bit of fun while she s got it in her heaven knows it ll be soon gone out of her when she which rally she will do sooner or later anyhow she s all i ve got which is a marvel how the lord with some of us when you see a little of a woman like adam frost s wife with fifteen boys and girls and me with only one maid was silent he was not disposed to argue on such of the lord s way as resulted in one family with fifteen children and the other with only a single such as was accorded to the righteous judge of continued mrs s welcome god s good man to jump round the till she s wore her last pair of boots out if so be it s your wish mr and many thanks to you sir for all your kindness to her don t mention it mrs said and then to bring the worthy woman sharply round to the real object of her visit he gave a side glance at the clock is there anything you want me to do for you this morning i m rather busy your pardon i m sure sir for troubling you at as i do that what with the old folks and the young ones your is always full but when i got the letter this morning i says to my husband william william says i very loud for the poor creature growing so deaf that by and by i shall be a p whistle to make him ear me william says i there is only one man in this village who s got the right to give advice when advice is asked for of course there s no call for us to follow advice even when we gets it it s only respectable for decent church going folks to see the minister of the parish whenever there s any fear of our a slip of our souls and goin wrong therefore william says i shaking him by the arm to make the poor silly fool understand me it s to i m goin this with this letter to d ye ear and he nodded his head wise like for all the world as though there were a bit of sense in it which there ain t and with me for the lord knows if william doesn t that it may make change for him as well as for me and i do confess i ve been took back following as best he could the entangled thread of the lady s discourse grasped the fact vaguely that some unexpected letter with unexpected news in it had arrived to trouble the domestic a	33
slight he endeavoured to assume the proper show of interest which every village parson is expected to display on the shortest notice concerning any subject from the birth of the latest baby to the death of the earliest pig i m sorry you re in trouble mrs he said kindly what letter are you speaking of ton see i don t quite understand which it s not to be expected you should sir i replied mrs with an air of triumph as you god s good man here when she left and the has been what you may call a stately ome of england deserted as most stately are for more n ten years you couldn t be expected to understand the john looked as he felt completely he wasn t here when she left who was she with all his naturally sweet temper he began to feel slightly irritated really mrs he said endeavouring to throw an of into his mellow voice i must ask you to explain matters a little more clearly i know that the has been practically shut up ever since i ve been here that you are the housekeeper in charge and that your husband is or there but beyond this i know nothing so you must not talk in mrs here his kind smile shone out even as a boy i was never good at them i and i am getting old now so you are sir so you are agreed mrs and tis a shame for me to come of you for no one more truly than myself can feel pity for the weariness of the flesh when tis just a burden to the bones and no pleasure in the of it though you don t put much of it on you don t i do assure you but it s gospel truth that some folks wears thin like a knife while others wears thick like a pig and there is no stopping them either way bein the lord s will but i m real myself to have put you about only as i said i ve been took back and here s the letter sir which if you will kindly glance your hi over you will tell me whether i ve done the right thing to call on my way down here and get in a couple of at eighteen pence a day which is dear but they won t come for less jest to get some of the rough dirt off the floors afore which will have to be done whether we will oi no for the boards are solid oak and bein ancient take the shine quickly which is a mercy for this day week is none too far off all that s put upon me here being short of breath she paused and in a black pocket which hung loosely at her side attached to her ample waist by a string she drew out with great care a rather large square looking and then rising from her chair with much fluttering of her black gown and mysterious creaking sound as of tight under wear strained to breaking point she held it out toward who had god s good man her last outburst unconsciously put his hand to his head in a of bewilderment there is the letter sir she continued in the tone of one who should say there is the warrant for execution short and sweet as the farmer s wife said when she ate the pig s tail what dropped o e while the animal was a allowing this brilliant to pass without comment took the thick white object she offered and found himself considering it with a curious it was a strictly fashionable make of envelope and was addressed in a particularly bold and hand writing to mrs housekeeper s st rest opening it the reverend john read as follows miss to inform mrs that she will arrive at s on the th to remain there in residence mrs is requested to engage the necessary household servants as miss will bring none except the groom in charge of her two hunters over and over again read this and commonplace note with a sense of irritation which he knew was perfectly absurd but which nevertheless defied all reason the paper on which it was written was thick and and there was a faint artificial of about it which annoyed him he hated scented deliberately he replaced it in its envelope and holding it for a moment as he again studied the he addressed the expectant mrs who had re seated herself and was waiting for him to speak well mrs i don t think you need any advice from me on such a simple matter as this he said slowly your duty is quite plain you must obey orders miss is i suppose the mistress of s she is sir of course it all belongs to miss miss what interrupted with a sudden of his dark blue eyes sir it is a kind of family name pronounced ma yer explained mrs with considerable many folks never gets it right it wants knowledge and practice but if you remember the pictures in the gallery at the sir you may call to mind one of god s good man the of the painted in a velvet dress and a crop and the name underneath is mary de and it was after her that the old squire called his daughter the two names mary into one as it were just to make a name what none of his had ever had he was a queer man the old squire he wouldn t a cared whether the name was christian or heathen i suppose not said the john carelessly rising and pushing back his chair with a slightly impatient gesture whereupon mrs rose too and	33

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